Ktimtrg 


Slbrdrr 


I 


•A. 


GIFT  OF 


HAR-MOAD 


OR 


THE  MOUNTAIN  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY 


A  SERIES  OF  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  STUDIES,  CHIEFLY 

FROM    THE   STAND-POINT   OF   THE 

CUNEIFORM  INSCRIPTIONS 


BY 

REV.  O.  D.  MILLER,  D.D. 

MEMBER  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ORIENTAL  SOCIETY;  OF  THE  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  INSTITUTE 

OK  AMERICA;  OF  THE  VICTORIA  INSTITUTE,  OR  THE  PHILOSOPHICAL 

SOCIETY  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN,  ETC. 


WITH  PORTRAIT  OF  THE  AUTHOR  AND 
PLATE  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NORTH  ADAMS,  MASS. 

PUBLISHED   BY  STEPHEN    M.  WHIPPLE 

1 10  MAIN  STREET 
1892 


• 


(o 


Copyright,  1891, 
BY  S.  M.  WHIPPLE. 

All  rights  reserved. 


». 


:  •':  -•• 


The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge,  Mass  ,  U.  S.  A. 
Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  II.  0.  Houghton  &  Ccuipany. 


PREFACE. 


I  SUBMIT  to-day  to  the  judgment  of  the  public,  and  especially  of 
learned  critics,  the  results,  in  part,  of  protracted  and  laborious  re- 
searches in  the  department  of  antiquities.  The  particular  field  of 
antiquarian  studies  to  which  in  the  main  my  inquiries  have  been  di- 
rected comprehends  the  entire  prehistoric  period,  especially  in  Asia, 
including  the  primitive  traditions  of  mankind  and  the  origin  of  the 
ancient  civilizations.  One  of  the  principal  objects  which  I  have 
had  in  view  has  been  to  ascertain  the  real  character,  and  to  trace 
the  actual  origin,  of  those  ideas  that  formed  the  theoretical  basis  of 
the  religious,  political,  and  social  institutions  of^  the  ancient  world. 
But  a  still  more  definite  aim  in  this  direction  has  been  to  discover 
that  primitive  stratum  of  conceptions  and  doctrines  which  may  be 
regarded  as  fundamental  to  the  two  religions  of  the  Bible,  consti- 
tuting historically  the  germ  of  their  development.  Another  prom- 
inent object  has  been  to  determine  the  locality,  geographically,  from 
which  these  traditionary  ideas,  inherited  alike  by  nations  widely 
separated,  had  been  at  first  derived ;  the  locality,  in  fact,  from  which 
the  different  races  had  departed  toward  the  countries  occupied  by 
them  since  the  opening  of  the  historical  period.  In  connection  with 
these  matters  I  have  made  the  attempt,  however  hazardous  it  might 
at  first  seem,  to  fix  chronologically  the  epoch  by  means  of  certain 
astronomical  data,  to  which  the  primeval  traditions  definitely  ap- 
pertained. Aside  from  these  more  general  topics  other  questions 
have  been  treated,  sometimes  to  the  extent  of  entire  chapters,  for 
the  reason  that  they  were  important  in  themselves,  and  helped  to 
complete  the  view  of  antiquity  embodied  in  the  present  work. 

As  regards  the  spirit  in  which  these  investigations  have  been 
conducted,  the  reader  will  be  of  course  the  better  judge  ;  but  it 


iv  PREFACE. 

has  been  my  desire,  so  far  as  the  nature  of  the  subjects  treated  would 
permit  and  my  own  qualifications  allow,  to  regard  everything  from 
the  scientific  point  of  view.  In  verifying  the  facts,  the  rule  has 
been  to  depend  only  upon  the  latest  and  best  authorities  at  my 
command,  including,  however,  such  writers  of  former  periods  as 
were  generally  held  to  be  reliable.  To  a  considerable  extent  what 
are  termed  the  original  sources  have  been  consulted,  especially  the 
cuneiform  inscriptions ;  but  where  this  was  impossible,  in  covering 
so  wide  a  field  of  investigation,  I  have  usually  relied  'upon  those 
authors  only  who  are  familiar  with  such  sources.  In  all  cases  I 
have  labored  to  ascertain  precisely  the  facts,  and  to  place  before 
the  reader  the  most  available  means  of  substantiating  them.  But 
the  same  facts  in  the  hands  of  various  writers  will  often  receive 
quite  different  constructions ;  and  it  is  here  principally,  if  anywhere, 
that  the  critical  ability  and  scientific  spirit  of  an  author  exhibit 
themselves.  I  believe  that  my  readers  will  freely  accord  to  me  a 
fair  degree  of  merit  in  this  respect.  It  is  my  misfortune,  perhaps, 
in  conducting  these  researches  to  have  been  so  little  influenced  by 
the  opinions  and  theories  entertained  by  many  very  eminent  au- 
thorities, and  thus  to  have  arrived  at  a  general  view  of  antiquity 
equally  opposed  in  some  important  respects  to  those  received  by 
the  different  and  conflicting  schools  of  modern  investigators. 

The  materials  that  have  been  actually  of  the  most  service  to  me 
in  attempting  to  solve  the  more  difficult  problems,  pertaining  espe- 
cially to  high  antiquity,  affording  oftentimes  the  only  key  to  their 
solution,  are  those  derived  from  the  valleys  of  the  Euphrates  and 
Tigris,  to  a  great  extent  embodied  in  the  cuneiform  inscriptions. 
Aside  from  the  books  of  Moses,  I  think  these  texts  contain  the 
most  ample  and  reliable  notices  pertaining  to  the  primitive  ages  of 
humanity  of  any  known  sources.  Although  they  are  neither  so 
voluminous  nor  ancient  as  the  hieroglyphic  inscriptions  of  Egypt, 
for  instance,  they  certainly  offer  a  better  reflection  of  the  original 
Hamite  development  of  Asia ;  and  this,  as  must  be  admitted,  pre- 
ceded both  the  Aryan  and  Semitic.  In  consulting  these  texts  I 
have  availed  myself  of  the  previous  labors  of  cuneiform  scholars  in 


PREFACE.  v 

Europe  so  far  as  possible,  and  my  indebtedness  to  them  has  been 
continually  very  great.  But  in  the  present  state  of  cuneiform  sci- 
ence every  student  has  to  rely  chiefly  upon  himself  ;  and  it  has  been 
from  the  astronomical  and  mythological  texts  themselves  that  I 
have  derived  the  most  valuable  hints  relative  to  the  prehistoric 
ages. 

In  writing  the  present  treatise  the  attempt  has  been  made  to 
adapt  it  as  well  to  the  ordinary  reader  as  to  those  who  have  made 
antiquities  a  special  study.  For  the  one  class  the  extracts  from 
authors  in  foreign  languages  have  been  put  into  English,  while  for 
the  other  class  the  references  simply  to  the  works  cited  would  have 
been  sufficient,  and  even  preferable.  For  similar  reasons  an  Eng- 
lish transliteration  of  foreign  terms  has  been  given,  without  regard 
to  any  uniform  system,  however,  as  the  original  text  has  been  also 
given  in  nearly  all  cases.  For  the  convenience  of  those  who  may 
wish  to  consult  the  authorities  cited,  a  list  of  them  has  been  pre- 
pared in  which  the  titles  of  their  works  are  given  in  full. 

I  have  to  regret  exceedingly  the  state  of  circumstances  which  has 
deprived  me  of  the  advice  and  assistance  of  competent  critics  in 
working  out  those  more  difficult  problems  which  I  have  deemed  it 
important  to  investigate,  even  without  such  aid.  Nevertheless,  I 
believe  that,  by  a  singularly  good  fortune,  certain  important  facts 
have  been  established  pertaining  to  the  earliest  periods  of  history, 
the  result  of  which  must  be  to  modify  essentially  the  prevailing 
theories  respecting  antiquity.  Thus  I  shall  indulge  the  hope  that 
my  labors  will  contribute  in  some  degree  to  advance  our  knowledge 
of  the  remote  past. 

THE  AUTHOR. 
WELLESLEY,  MASS.,  November,  1876. 


HOW  TO  READ   THIS  BOOK. 

HAVING  read  the  preface,  turn  to  page  413,  and  read  "  A  Sum- 
mary of  Results,"  and  take  special  note  of  "  the  Cabiri  "  in  section 
172,  amplified  in  chapter  three.  Then  look  at  section  174,  ampli- 
fied in  chapter  seven,  and  note  the  "fourth"  region,  or  under  world, 
and  its  probable  nonentity,  page  201.  Then,  too,  in  the  closing 
paragraph  of  section  177,  note  the  relation  of  Christ  to  the  "tradi- 
tionary ideas  of  antiquity,"  that  "all  is  fulfilled  and  realized  in 
Him,"  page  435.  Turn,  then,  to  page  16,  and  read  the  Scripture 
there  quoted,  and  note  that  the  great  Hamite-Cushite  race  from 
the  East  was  the  first  to  settle  Egypt  and  Babylon ;  that  this 
Bible  race  can  be  traced  to  Mount  Meru,  on  the  high  table-lands  of 
Central  Asia ;  that  the  races  emigrating  from  that  region  can  be 
traced  from  thence  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth,  and  that 
however  widely  separated,  they  can  be  re-traced  to  their  common 
home,  —  the  Eden  of  Genesis. 

For  "  the  fundamental  law  of  mind  and  nature,  as  well  as  of  all 
historical  development,"  read  the  first  paragraph  of  section  57, 
page  148,  and  note  "  identity  in  the  different,  assimilation  of  things 
divided,  separated."  Then  pass  to  section  100,  for  another  law, 
and  note  that  "  harmony  is  born  of  the  reaction  of  contraries ;  " 
yea,  "  the  identity  of  contraries,"  page  266. 

Make  Plate  IV.,  page  372,  a  study.  Note  on  page  377  "the 
principle  of  union  in  opposition,"  and  its  application  to  the  signs 
and  constellations  of  the  zodiac,  with  comments  in  section  152, 
page  376. 

The  author's  philosophy  crops  out  repeatedly  in  his  work,  and 
may  be  specially  noted  in  the  last  two  sections. 

Finally,  reader,  make  this  book  a  study,  comprehend  its  thought, 
live  in  that  thought,  and  you  will  come  to  know  that  man  once  lived 
in  conscious  unity  with  God  and  all  created  things. 

S.  M.  WHIPPLE. 
NORTH  ADAMS,  MASS.,  August,  1891. 


WHAT  THIS  BOOK  TEACHES. 

FIEST  and  foremost,  it  teaches  the  personality  of  God ;  that  He 
dwells  somewhere,  the  same  as  man. 

Symbolism  is  at  the  bottom  of  everything  ancient.  "  Symbolic 
writing  was  the  most  ancient  among  the  cultured  nations  of  an- 
tiquity "  (page  32). 

The  shovel  was  the  symbol  of  the  primitive  worship  of  mankind. 
"  The  hearth,  and  the  divinity  of  the  hearth,  constituted  the  focus 
of  all  the  ancient  civilizations  "  (page  33). 

"  The  God  of  the  hearth  was  really  the  paternal  head  of  the 
household,  and  its  members  were  his  family  "  (page  34). 

"  The  national  God  of  the  Jews  was  originally  one  with  the 
ancient  Accadian  or  Cushite  divinity  of  the  hearth  "  (page  38). 

"  It  was  there  that  the  institutions  and  civilizations  of  the  ancient 
world  were  cradled."  "  The  consecrated  hearth  was  His  focus,  His 
altar,  His  house,  His  table,  His  fireside  "  (page  41). 

"  Such  was  one  of  the  original  conceptions  of  the  Jewish  theo- 
cracy." "  This  grand  idea  had  been  taught  the  world,  earlier  than 
the  time  of  Abraham,  earlier  than  the  Tower  of  Babel,  and  while 
the  Hamite  and  Semite,  the  Turanian  and  Aryan,  were  yet  as  one 
family  "  (page  42). 

"  The  notion  that  God  dwells,  inhabits,  the  same  as  man,  was 
everywhere  fundamental ;  and  it  was  for  this  reason  that  the 
national  temple  was  considered  Grod's  house,  and  its  altar  the 
National  Hearth  "  (page  43). 

"  With  the  men  of  high  antiquity  God  was  not  conceived  as 
wholly  distinct  from  created  nature.  On  the  contrary,  nature  was 
considered  as  the  Face,  the  Name,  the  external  manifestation  of 
divinity.  As  something  purely  universal  and  abstract,  far  removed 
from  the  work  of  his  own-  wisdom  and  power,  the  Deity  was  al- 
most wholly  unknown  in  the  first  ages  of  humanity.  .  .  .  The 
Divine  Mind  was  everywhere  present  in  the  outward  world,  and 


Vlll 


WHAT   THIS  BOOK   TEACHES. 


everything  that  had  life  was  a  symbol  of  God.  .  .  .  God  is  uni- 
versal, infinite,  but  not  as  an  abstraction.  He  alone  is  really  univer- 
sal who  is  present  in  his  fullness  in  each  and  every  particular.  If 
the  Infinite  dwells  not  in  this  tree  and  in  this  stone,  He  is  nowhere. 
If  it  is  only  beneath  temple  domes  that  the  Deity  takes  up  his 
abode,  primitive  humanity  was  without  a  God,  for  then  there  were 
no  temples." 

"  It  is  mind  alone  that  dwells,  and  it  is  matter  alone  that  consti- 
tutes the  dwelling.  .  .  .  God  must  dwell  somewhere,  the  same  as 
man.  This  eternal  law  of  all  mind,  which  philosophy,  science,  and 
speculative  theology  have  now  well-nigh  forgotten,  is  that  alone 
which  gives  meaning  to  the  phrase,  *  House  of  God  '  "  (pages  61,  62). 

"The  assumption  of  the  entire  expanse  of  the  sky  as  the  abode 
of  the  Heavenly  Father  was  just  that  pantheistical  conception  ex- 
pressly discountenanced  by  the  sacred  writers,  and  the  assumption 
of  a  purely  ideal  region  beyond  the  material  heavens  as  such  abode 
found  no  justification  in  the  sacred  tradition  ;  this  ideal  region 
was  an  additional  world,  superinduced  upon  the  real  cosmos,  when 
philosophy  and  science  had  consummated  the  divorce  between  mind 
and  matter,  and  it  is  just  this  divorce  which  is  to-day  undermining 
the  faith  of  mankind  "  (page  440). 

Next  to  the  personality  of  God  is  the  chronology  of  creation,  a 
zodiacal  chronology,  the  chronology  of  the  stars  ;  whereon  God  in 
his  providence  inscribed  man's  early  history:  his  temptation,  "the 
fall,"  and  a  promised  Redeemer  in  the  seed  of  the  woman ;  —  all 
this,  before  there  was  an  Abraham,  a  Moses  or  a  Jew,  or  even 
a  written  language.  "  The  first  prophecy  ever  uttered  to  man 
.  .  .  may  be  read  to-day,  as  plainly  inscribed  on  the  celestial 
sphere  as  in  the  third  chapter  of  Genesis  "  (page  417). 

It  is  my  purpose  now  to  interpret  that  early  history  and  subse- 
quent revelations,  in  harmony  with  this  book,  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  scriptures,  and  my  own  individual  experience. 

I  hazard  nothing  in  saying  that  the  spirit  and  intent  of  this 
book  is  to  teach  a  primitive  revelation  written  in  the  heavens : 
first,  inscribed  astronomically  and  zodiacally  on  the  eastern  sky  ; 
then,  historically  on  the  northern  heavens  which  overlook  "  the 
Mountain  of  the  Assembly,"  the  "Har-Moad"  of  Isaiah,  the 
Olympus  of  all  Asia.  Out  from  the  Gan-Eden  of  Genesis  —  to  the 
east,  to  the  west,  to  the  south  —  the  author  has  traced  the  earliest 


WHAT   THIS  BOOK   TEACHES.  ix 

traditions  of  mankind ;  then,  from  the  widely  separated  countries  to 
which  the  cultured  races  of  antiquity  had  migrated,  he  has  retraced 
the  same  traditions  to  their  common  origin  on  the  high  table-lands 
of  Central  Asia,  "the  home  of  all  the  traditions,  the  birthplace  of 
all  the  mysteries." 

The  traditions  themselves  fix  the  epoch  of  their  birth,  by  reveal- 
ing the  state  of  the  heavens  to  which  they  all  appertain,  and 
thus  determine  the  chronology  of  creation. 

That  chronology  is  a  three-strand  cord,  scientifically  conceived 
and  inseparably  bound  together :  one  strand  broken,  all  broken  ; 
one  verified,  all  verified  ! 

The  first  strand  may  be  termed  the  creative  epoch  ;  the  second, 
the  celestial  Eden ;  the  third,  the  primitive  pole.  Admit  either  of 
these  prime  factors,  and  the  other  two  have  to  be  admitted.  These 
factors  had  their  fulfillment  more  than  ten  thousand  years  before 
our  era  (page  411). 

Then,  at  the  winter  solstice,  the  sign  Capricorn  was  in  the  con- 
stellation Gemini,  marking  the  creative  epoch,  the  birth  of  the 
organized  world  and  the  primitive  man. 

Then,  at  the  vernal  equinox,  the  sign  Taurus  was  in  the  constel- 
lation Libra,  or  the  Pincers  of  Scorpio,  marking  the  celestial  Eden 
of  the  East,  —  the  sacred  mountain,  the  source  of  the  four  rivers, 
the  trees  of  life  and  knowledge,  the  first  human  pair,  the  serpent, 
the  great  transgression,  the  fall,  the  expulsion,  the  cherubim,  the 
flaming  sword,  the  seed  of  the  woman,  the  promised  Redeemer,  the 
hope  of  the  world  in  all  ages. 

Then,  at  the  creative  epoch,  the  star  Vega,  in  the  constellation 
Lyra,  was  marking  the  celestial  Eden  of  the  north,  —  the  man,  the 
woman,  the  serpent,  the  temptation,  the  great  calamity,  the  Her- 
cules, the  expected  Redeemer,  the  hope  of  the  heathen  world. 

These  factors  were  in  their  respective  places  by  virtue  of  the  im- 
mutable law, precession — thegr<jat  "celestial  clock  "  that  keeps  time 
by  centuries,  and  will  keep  it  while  the  earth  has  an  orbit  round  the 
sun  or  the  sun  an  orbit  round  a  "  vaster  sun  "  —  God !  whose  presence 
fills  immensity ;  whose  substance  permeates  everything,  animate  or 
inanimate  ;  whose  power  energizes  the  uni-verse  of  mind  and  matter 
in  everlasting  unity ;  whose  attributes  are  limited  by  his  own  crea- 
tion, in  which  He  lives  and  moves  and  has  his  being,  as  man  lives 
and  moves  and  has  his  being  in  Him,  the  supreme  personality ;  and 


WHAT  THIS  BOOK  TEACHES. 


yet,  in  everything,  for  everything,  ruling  everything  in  law,  order, 
and  special  providence ;  the  creator  and  destroyer  of  dynasties,  of 
kingdoms  and  empires  according  to  His  own  will ;  the  foster-father 
of  every  civilization,  prescribing  its  boundaries  ;  the  patron  of  every 
religion,  doing  with  His  own  whatsoever  He  will,  in  justice-love  l  to 
all ;  the  hearth  god  of  every  dwelling,  providing,  directing,  reform- 
ing, blessing ;  rejoicing  with  those  who  rejoice,  sorrowing  with 
those  who  sorrow  ;  a  present  help  in  time  of  need  ;  the  divinity  in 
every  soul  created  in  His  image ;  disciplining  that  soul-image, 
(divine  and  human,}  into  the  likeness  of  Himself,  Christ  the  su- 
preme example,  —  this  is  my  conception  of  God  ;  2  it  is  the  under- 
lying conception  of  Dr.  Miller's  life-work  ;  the  restoration  to  the 
modern  world  of  the  ancient  order  of  things  ;  a  vindication  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament  scriptures  ;  a  revelation  of  God's  immanent 
presence  in  the  affairs  of  men,  in  the  church,  the  state,  the  home, 
the  heart ;  subduing,  correcting,  purifying,  elevating,  restoring  man 
to  his  first  estate,  through  a  crucified  and  risen  Redeemer,  the 
Christ,  the  Hercules,  the  seed  of  the  woman  that  shall  bruise  the 
serpent's  head  and  redeem,  the  human  race. 

THE  PUBLISHER. 
November,  1891. 

1  The   justice  of  God  is  the  love  of  God ;   hence,  justice-love  :  the  ground 
thought  of  reform;  the  underlying  law  of  moral  and  spiritual  growth  ;  the  unseen 
hand  that  smites  to  quicken,  probes  to  cure,  lacerates  to  heal  ;  klllst  even,  to 
make  alive.     Such  has  been  my  experience,  to  know  God*s  justice-love  !     Not 
man's  love,  nor  woman's  love,  both  partial  and  unjust,  seeking  its  own   and  not 
another's  good.    Divine  love  is  not  human  love,  nor  is  human  love  divine  love,  till 
both  blend  in  justice-love  to  all,  incarnated  in  the  primitive  man,  and  in  all  men,  as 
witnesses  of  His  justice  and  judgment,  here  and  hereafter,  in  the  body  or  out,  in 
Heaven  or  in  Hades. 

2  As  defined  iu  this  sentence  of  many  members,  and  in  the  above  note. 


A  BRIEF  SKETCH  OF  THE  AUTHOR'S  LIFE  AND 
WORK,  AND  THE  WRITER'S  CONNECTION  WITH 
HIM  IN  THAT  WORK. 

ORLANDO  DANA  MILLER  was  born  at  Woodstock,  County  of 
Windsor,  State  of  Vermont,  October  18,  1821. 1 

In  boyhood,  he  joined  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  of  which 
his  father  was  a  member  to  the  close  of  his  life  in  1878. 

In  1845,  he  was  graduated  at. Norwich  University,  Vermont; 
was  accorded  the  degrees  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  Master  of  Military 
Science  and  Civil  Engineering,  and  subsequently  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts.  After  graduation,  he  entered  the  field  of  civil 
engineering ;  finding  it  unsuited  to  his  tastes  and  mode  of  thought, 
lie  left  it  for  the  law;  and  finding  that  profession  not  adapted  to 
his  aspirations,  he  entered  the  Christian  ministry. 

In  1848,  he  married  Miss  Cornelia  M.  Burton,  Norwich,  Ver- 
mont. To  them  were  born  three  daughters.  The  youngest  died  in 
infancy :  the  remaining  two  reside  with  their  mother  at  South 
Merriina-ek,  New  Hampshire, 

For  the  first  fifteen  years  after  graduation,  aside  from  the  prac- 
tice of  civil  engineering  and  the  study  of  law,  he  devoted  his  time 
to  Biblical  studies  and  the  modern  languages.  For  twelve  years  of 
that  time,  he  had  charge  of  parishes  in  the  States  of  Vermont,  Ohio, 
New  York,  Massachusetts,  and  New  Hampshire.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  order,  and  a  Royal  Arch  Mason. 

But  it  became  evident  to  him  that  he  was  adapted  to  some  other 
work  than  the  ministry,  whereupon  he  resigned  the  pastorate  of  the 
First  Universalist  Society  of  Nashua,  N.  H.,  and  after  an  interval 
of  about  five  years,  settled  down  to  the  study  of  the  ancient  lan- 
guages, especially  the  cuneiform  and  kindred  tongues,  that  he 
might  become  his  own  interpreter  of  Oriental  thought. 

1  The  writer,  Stephen  Munson  Whipple,  was  born  at  Whipple's  Corners,  town 
of  Pownal,  County  of  Bennington,  State  of  Vermont,  May  6,  1821. 


Xll 


SKETCH   OF   THE   AUTHOR'S   LIFE. 


After  fifteen  years'  labor,  which  knew  little  abatement,  his  schol- 
arship, began  to  be  recognized. 

In  1875,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  American  Oriental 
Society,  and  subsequently  a  member  of  the  Archaeological  Insti- 
tute of  America. 

In  1880,  the  secretary  of  the  Victoria  Institute,  or  the  Philoso- 
phical Society  of  Great  Britain,  thus  wrote :  — 

"Sir, —  The  council  presents  its  compliments,  and  sends  a  copy 
of  a  paper  recently  read  before  this  society,  which  it  invites  you  to 
join.  .  .  .  Should  you  kindly  consent  to  prepare  a  paper  for  it, 
the  council  will  be  much  gratified." 

In  June,  1881,  the  secretary  again  wrote  :  — 

44  Sir,  —  I  have  the  honor  to  convey  to  you  the  president  and 
council's  invitation  for  you  to  join  this  society  as  a  member  or  as 
an  associate." 

To  be  elected,  under  the  rules  of  that  society,  required  the  pay- 
ment of  twenty  guineas.  This  sum  Dr.  Miller  did  not  feel  able  to 
spare  from  his  limited  means,  whereupon  the  Institute  elected  him 
an  honorary  life  member.  In  return  for  the  honor  thus  conferred 
upon  him,  he  prepared  a  paper,  which  was  read  before  the  council 
and  printed  in  London.  Thereafter,  he  was  invited,  through  Pro- 
fessor Schrader,  of  Berlin  University,  to  attend  the  world's  congress 
of  Orientalists  at  Berlin  ;  and  subsequently  to  attend  the  same 
congress  at  St.  Petersburg. 

In  1882,  he  received  notice  from  the  Faculty  of  Tufts  College 
that,  "  with  the  unanimous  approval  of  the  Faculty  and  Board  of 
Trustees,  our  President  honors  our  college  by  conferring  upon  you 
the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  .  .  .  Permit  me," 
writes  the  secretary  of  the  Faculty,  "to  express  my  regret  that  we 
have  been  so  tardy  in  recognizing  your  merits.  But  the  fact  is, 
we  have  been  so  attentivato  our  special  work,  and  you  have  done 
your  work  so  quietly,  that  we  were  not  aware,  until  quite  recently, 
what  you  were  doing  and  what  recognition  your  labors  have  re- 
ceived by  the  scholars  and  learned  bodies  of  America  and  Europe. 
The  honors  you  have  received  are  indeed  a  very  complimentary 
testimony  to  your  scholarship,  and,  I  have  no  doubt,  most  worthily 
bestowed." 

It  may  not  be  without  interest  to  the  reader  to  know  what  papers 
have  been  given  to  the  public  by  Dr.  Miller,  and  the  circumstances 
under0 which  they  were  called  forth,  and  where  first  published. 


SKETCH.   OF  THE   AUTHOR'S  LIFE.  xm 

In  the  April  number  of  the  "Bibliotheca  Sacra"  for  1875,  there 
appeared,  in  the  editorial  correspondence,  two  letters  on  "  The  Raw- 
linson  Theory  respecting  the  Site  of  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,"  —  the  first 
from  the  pen  of  Rev.  Lucien  H.  Adams,  and  the  other,  in  reply, 
embracing  sundry  criticisms,  from  the  pen  of  Rev.  Selah  Merrill. 
When  these  letters  came  under  the  observation  of  Rev.  O.  D.  Mil- 
ler, he  wrote  a  letter  to  the  publisher,  in  which  he  says,  "  Rev.  Mr. 
Merrill's  remarks,  touching  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  are  well  put,  and 
may  be  regarded  as  embodying  the  results  of  investigations  to  the 
present  time."  This  letter  the  publisher  handed  to  Mr.  Merrill, 
who  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Miller,  under  date  of  April  16,  1875,  among 
other  things,  said  :  "  Our  introduction  has  certainly  been  a  novel 
one,  but  none  the  less  pleasant.  From  the  tone  of  your  letter  — 
which,  by  the  way,  there  are  not  six  men,  and  probably  not  over 
four,  in  America  who  could  have  written  the  criticisms  it  con- 
tained," etc.  And  further,  "  By  the  way,"  Mr.  Merrill  inquired, 
a  to  what  denomination  do  you  belong?  "  To  which  Mr.  Miller 
replied,  "  I  am  with  the  Universalists  on  the  final  destiny  of  man  ; 
in  all  else,  I  differ." 

Thereafter,  Professor  Merrill  took  a  friendly  interest  in  Dr.  Mil- 
ler, and  commended  him  to  the  favorable  notice  of  cuneiform 
scholars  and  others  of  kindred  thought. 

When  Rev.  Mr.  Peet  proposed  to  publish  an  Oriental  and  Bibli- 
cal Journal,  at  Chicago,  Illinois,  Professor,  now  Dr.  Merrill  favored 
the  enterprise ;  and  when  it  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Miller,  he  consented  to  prepare  articles  on  Oriental  subjects  to 
be  published  in  that  journal,  five  of  which  appeared  in  the  first  vol- 
ume for  1880,  as  follows  :  — 

44  The  Assyrio-Babylonian  Doctrine  of  the  Future  Life,  following 
the  Cuneiform  Inscriptions ;  "  "  The  Antiquity  of  Sacred  Writings 
in  the  Valley  of  the  Euphrates;"  "  Accadian  or  Sumerian ; " 
44  The  Gan-Eden  of  Genesis  ;  "  "  The  Pyramidal  Temple."  For 

1881,  three  articles  :  "  Solar  Symbolism  in  the  Ancient  Religions  : '' 
44  Symbolic  Geography  of  the  Ancients  ;  "    t4  Dr.  Brugsch-Bey,  on 
the  Origin  of  the  Egyptians,  and  the  Egyptian  Civilization."     For 

1882,  "The    Divinity  of  the    Hearth;"   and  to  it  may  be  added, 
k4  Testimony  of  the  Cuneiform  Texts  to  the  Antediluvian  Period  of 
the  Mosaic  History,"  which,  as  already  noted,  was  read  before  the 
council  of  t!.e  Victoria  Institute,  and  printed  in,  London. 


XIV 


SKETCH   OF   THE   AUTHOR'S  LIFE. 


These  papers  have  been  translated  into  other  languages,  and  have 
given  to  Dr.  Miller  whatever  reputation  he  may  have  as  an  Assyri- 
ologist  and  cuneiform  scholar. 

Honors  multiply.  Among  them,  one  may  be  noted  here,  from 
"  The  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Quarterly  Review,"  edited  by  the 
Theological  Faculty  of  Cumberland  University,  Tenn. 

In  that  review  for  April,  1888,  in  an  article  on  "  Eden  :  its 
Location  and  Geography  in  the  Bible  and  out  of  it,"  Rev.  Dr.  Bu- 
chanan says  :  "  For  translations  of  passages  from  the  French  found 
below,  I  am  under  obligations  to  Rev.  O.  D.  Miller,  of  Nashua, 
N.  H.,  whom  Rev.  S.  D.  Peet,  editor  of  4  The  American  Antiquarian 
and  Oriental  Journal,'  says  is  the  finest  Assyriologist  in  America. 
For  several  years,  I  have  watched  his  papers  in  *  The  American  An- 
tiquarian and  Oriental  Journal,'  with  great  profit  and  interest,  and 
can  commend  him  as  to  candor  and  learning  in  antiquarian 
studies." 

It  may  be  said  that  these  honors,  from  first  to  last,  were  wholly 
unsought  by  the  recipient ;  he  was  too  modest  and  retiring  to  think 
of  preferment,  always  shrinking  from  contact  with  the  world,  and, 
in  his  latter  days,  from  men,  except  in  his  study ;  there,  scholars 
were  always  welcome.  One,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the  writer 
dated  Andover,  Mass.,  September  1,  1890,  says  of  him :  — 

"Dr.  Miller  was  conspicuous  for  his  modesty  in  his  judgment  of 
himself  and  his  work.  He  was  sincere  in  his  search  after  truth  and 
patient  in  all  his  investigations.  He  was  brave  and  hopeful  under 
very  trying  pecuniary  difficulties.  He  was  appreciative  of  the  ser- 
vices and  work  of  other  scholars  to  a  degree  far  beyond  what  is 
usually  found  among  close  students.  In  his  faithfulness  as  a  friend, 
there  was  something  manly  and  inspiring.  His  words  were  an  en- 
couragement to  perseverance  and  renewed  effort  in  study,  and  from 
his  quiet  home  and  life  there  went  forth  a  perpetual  blessing. 

Yours  sincerely, 

SELAH  MERRILL." 

It  was  in  his  study,  in  our  walks,  in  the  forest,  that  I  heard  over 
and  over  again,  a  hundred  times  repeated,  the  story  of  his  life-work, 
until  I  became  familiar  with  its  leading  thought ;  and  being  myself 
an  expert,  I  scanned  his  facts,  probed  his  theory,  and  believed  in 
the  outcome  of  his  more  than  human  effort  to  recover  from  oblivion 

\. 

the  "  primitive  revelation  written  in  the  heavens." 


SKETCH   OF   THE   AUTHOR'S   LIFE.  xv 

The  reader  may  naturally  ask,  How  did  Dr.  Miller  maintain  him- 
self and  those  dependent  upon  him  after  withdrawing  from  the 
ministry  ?  How  did  he  obtain  books  and  periodicals  to  carry  on 
his  work  ?  These  questions  are  answered,  in  part,  in  a  "  Memo- 
rial of  a  Scholar,"  published  soon  after  his  death,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Flan- 
ders :  — 

"I  am  glad,"  says  the  doctor,  u  to  record  that  in  his  labor  of  love 
he  was  assisted  by  Mr.  S.  M.  Whipple,  an  old  and  devoted  friend, 
who  not  only  sympathized  with  his  desire  for  knowledge  and  his 
lofty  aims,  but  for  many  years  took  upon  himself  the  maintenance 
of  his  family,  that  lie  might  pursue  his  cherished  studies  free  from 
care." 

It  may  be  further  said  that  rare  and  costly  books,  catalogued  in 
the  libraries  of  Europe,  were  sought  out  and  added  to  his  library, 
for  study  and  reference,  to  fortify  and  strengthen  his  method  of  in- 
terpreting Oriental  thought. 

My  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Miller  commenced  in  January,  1852, 
and  continued  with  slight  interruptions  to  the  close  of  his  life  in 
1888. 

In  the  last  days  of  1863,  —  after  the  termination  of  a  business 
venture  which  proved  disastrous  in  the  extreme,  without  which, 
perchance,  this  book  had  not  been  written,  —  I  went  to  see  him, 
to  persuade  him,  if  possible,  to  enter  upon  the  work  foreshadowed 
to  him  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  in  the  spring  of  1851 :  "  There  is  a  prim- 
itive revelation  written  in  the  heavens.  Obey  God,  and  thou  shalt 
read  it,  and  leave  it  a  legacy  to  the  world." 

It  was  here  that  my  work  commenced  which  enabled  him  to  re- 
alize the  promise  made  to  him,  thirteen  years  before.  For  a  term 
of  years,  he  pursued  his  life-work  in  the  way  of  preparation. 

In  October,  1869,  he  moved  from  New  Hampshire,  to  Wellesh-y, 
Mass.,  there  to  resume  his  work  and  carry  it  to  completion.  His 
surroundings  were  all  that  he  could  wish  or  desire,  —  free  from 
care  or  reasonable  anxiety ;  free  to  follow  the  lead  of  the  Divine 
Power  which  he  claimed  was  ever  present  to  aid  and  direct  his 
work.  That  work  was  finished,  and  the  preface  written,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1876,  and  is  now  before  the  reader. 

In  the  spring  of  1877,  the  author  conceived  the  idea  that  it  was 
not  well  for  him  to  be  longer  dependent  upon  another,  and  pro- 
posed a  separation,  he  naming  the  terms,  all  of  which  were  com- 


SKETCH   OF   THE   AUTHOR'S   LIFE. 

plied  with  ;  and  thus  he  wtis  enabled  to  purchase  a  farm  in  the 
vicinity  of  Nashua,  N.  H.,  and  move  on  to  it  in  June  of  that  year, 
with  every  prospect  of  enjoying  that  independence  which  his  being 
ever  craved,  but  never  realized.  f 

Here  it  is  due  to  both  to  say  that  in  1865  the  twain  entered 
into  a  verbal  covenant,  that  if  one  would  devote  his  time  and  talent 
to  recover  from  oblivion  "  the  primitive  revelation  written  in 
the  heavens,"  the  other  would  share  equally  with  him  the  proceeds 
of  his  labors,  as  God  should  prosper  him.  And  let  me  add,  by 
way  of  explanation,  that,  for  twelve  yeais,  something  more  than 
one  half  the  proceeds  of  my  labors  passed  directly  or  indirectly 
through  his  hands,  as  the  accounts  kept  by  me  clearly  show.  I 
take  no  credit  to  myself  for  what  I  did  for  him  and  his  family,  that 
he  might  do  the  woik  appointed  him  to  do.  I  simply  did  what  I 
was  moved  upon  to  do,  —  "  Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters ;  for 
thou  shalt  find  it  after  many  days." 

By  comparing  dates,  it  will  be  seen  that  what  has  been  given  to 
the  public  on  Oriental  subjects  was  published  years  -after  the 
author's  life-work  was  done,  and  the  record  of  that  work  filed  away, 
against  the  time  when  God  would  call  it  forth  to  vindicate  the 
great  and  good  men  of  the  prehistoric  past,  the  claims  of  the 
Mosaic  record,  and  the  Christ  of  the  Christian  church.  The  time, 
it  would  seem,  is  at  hand,  the  conditions  are  ripe,  for  "  the  Primi- 
tive Revelation  written  in  the  heavens"  —  the  u  Har-Moad,"  the 
"  Mountain  of  the  Assembly,"  the  Chronology  of  creation,  wherein 
lies  the  religion,  the  philosophy,  the  science  of  all  created  things, 
expressed  in  the  outward  world  in  duality,  male  and  female  (sec. 
179),  but  in  God,  joined  in  one  androgynous  unity,  and  hence  He 
is  the  Supreme  Personality,  in  the  likeness  of  which  man  was  cre- 
ated, and  thus  became  the  microcosm  of  the  universe,  and  the  living 
Temple  of  God. 

After  harvesting  tlie  crops  of  his  newly  acquired  farm,  he  ap- 
plied himself  to  study,  and  the  following  letter  best  conveys  the 
harmony  existing  between  us  after  separation. 

NASHUA,  N.  H.,  January  17,  1878. 

FRIEND  WHIPPLE,  —  Yours  of  the  llth  instant  came  to  hand 
last  night.  I  find,  according  to  its  terms,  and  the  interpretation 
it  gives  of  your  previous  letter,  that  you  are  indeed  doing  better 


SKETCH   OF   THE   AUTHOR'S   LIFE.  xvii 

than  I  asked,  for  which  I  am  under  much  obligation  to  you,  and 
hereby  tender  many  thanks.  I  have  no  doubt  that  you  sincerely 
design  in  the  future  to  do  better  by  me  than  I  could  even  hope. 

As  for  the  funds  for  publishing  the  book,  since  you  have  such 
an  interest  in  it,  and  have  contributed  so  much  to  it  already,  and 
since,  when  published,  it  is  to  be  dedicated  to  you,  it  is  only  proper 
that  you  should  be  permitted  to  aid  in  its  publication  ;  hence,  what 
you  offer  in  this  respect,  also,  is  thankfully  received. 

I  am  now  busy  at  work  upon  it.  I  shall  attempt  to  improve  it 
here  and  there  ;  and  now  that  you  propose  to  bear  the  expense, 
mostly,  of  publication,  I  shall  feel  that  I  can  afford  to  go  to  con- 
siderable expense  in  collecting  more  authorities. 

Thine, 

O.  D.  MILLER. 

Thereafter  he  revised,  in  part,  Chapter  XIII.  of  "  the  book ; " 
otherwise,  with  the  addition  of  several  notes  and  "  more  authori- 
ties," it  is  the  same  as  when  finished  in  1876. 

In  1880,  he  summarized  the  zodiacal,  astronomical,  and  historical 
portions  of  this  book;  and  for  the  residue  of  time  allotted  to  him  to 
work,  he  prepared  an  elaborate  treatise  on  "  The  Eschatology  of  the 
New  Testament ; "  setting  forth  the  Bible  doctrine  of  the  last 
things,  which  may  be  accepted  as  the  complement  of  the  first 
things,  or  "the  primitive  revelation  written  in  the  heavens,"  to 
be  hereafter  published,  and  thus  link  Genesis  to  Revelation,  and  so 
round  out  the  beginning  and  end  of  things  temporal  and  eternal. 

In  the  spring  of  18S6,  he  sold  his  farm  in  Nashua  and  purchased 
a  place  in  South  Merrimack,  where  his  last  days  were  spent  in  hope 
that  God  would  gird  on  anew  his  armor  and  give  him  a  life-long 
victory  over  the  adverse  power  of  the  unseen  world  ;  but  alas  for 
human  hopes,  his  work  was  done,  however  incomplete. 

And  yet,  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  he  lived  at  times  the  life 
of  God  ;  lived  in  conscious  unity  with  Him  and  wi'.h  nature,  as  did 
the  primitive  man;  and  I  have  reason  to  further  believe  that  it 
was  the  hope  and  aspiration  of  his  life  to  realize  in  his  own  being 
the  words  of  Christ  :  "The  prinoe  of  this  world  cometh,  and  hath 
nothing  in  me"  (John  xiv.  30).  But  he  could  not  maintain  that 
unity  against  "the  prince  of  this  world;"  who,  though  often 
"  cast  out,"  would  come  again,  and  that  conscious  unity  would 


XV111 


SKETCH   OF   THE   AUTHOR'S   LIFE. 


depart,  to  be  recovered,  then  lost,  then  recovered  ;  and  so  his  spirit 
alternated  between  the  law  of  mind  and  the  law  of  sin,  —  the  flesh, 
—  till  paralysis  and  the  grave  put  an  end  to  the  conflict  and  brought 
deliverance  from  "  the  body  of  this  death  "  and  the  sore  trials  by 
which  "  he  was  made  perfect  through  suffering."  He  was  a  just 
and  loving  spirit  in  a  body  of  death  ;  but  is  now  transferred  to 
the  "  Mount  of  the  Divine  Presence,"  to  the  city  of  the  living  Go;l, 
to  enter  upon  a  work  for  Christ  and  his  church  denied  him  in  "  the 
body  of  this  death"  (Rom.  vii.  24). 

After  an  absence  of  four  and  a  half  years  I  went  to  see  him.  It 
was  in  October,  1887,  and  I  spent  with  him  the  sixty-sixth  anniver- 
sary of  his  life  on  earth. 

In  August,  1888,  I  went  to  see  him  again,  wisely  and  well, 
for  the  shadows  of  evening  had  begun  to  gather  around  him  ;  but  I 
did  not  look  upon  his  declining  health  and  childish  sleeps,  in  which 
night  lengthened  into  day,  and  day  into  night,  other  than  the  rest, 
necessary  to  recuperation,  newness  of  life,  strength,  and  vigor,  to 
enable  him  to  resume  work,  and  carry  out  a  long-cherished  desire 
to  write  the  revelation  of  God  in  human  history,  especially  in  the 

EXPERIENCE  of  INDIVIDUALS. 

But  he  did  not  see  another  anniversary,  for  on  the  llth  of  Oc- 
tober, 1888,  he  slept  the  good  sleep,  to  awake  in  the  beautiful  man- 
sions of  "  the  just  made  perfect,"  prepared  for  them  from  the  foun- 
dations of  the  world. 

And  so  we  come  at  last  to  his  life-work,  and  submit  that  work  to 
the  candid  judgment  of  the  world  ;  confident  that  whoever  makes 
this  book  a  study  will  come  to  know  the  primitive  man  ;  come  to 
know  the  capacity  of  man  to  know  God  as  a  living  presence  in  the 
affairs  of  rrefi  ;  come  to  know  the  vital  force  of  the  words  sincerely 
uttered  ;  "  Thy  kingdom  come,  thy  will  be  done  on  earth,  as  it 
is  in  heaven ;  "  and  so  join  hand  and  heart  with  the  good  and  true 
everywhere,  and,  with  one  united  effort,  lead  man  in  the  way  of 
supreme  excellence ;  "  Be  ye  perfect,  even  as  your  Father  in  heaven 
is  perfect;"  and  so  fulfill  the  law  of  love,  —  love  to  God,  love  to 
man,  —  for  on  (his  law  depends  the  unify  of  all  things,  even  Chris- 
tian unity,  so  dear  to  every  believing  heart. 

S.  M.  W. 

December,  1891. 


GENERAL  CONTENTS. 


BOOK  I. 
CUSHITE   ARCHAEOLOGY. 


CHAPTER   I. 

PAGE 

CUSHITE  ORIGIN  OF  THK  SACRED  WRITING,  LANGUAGE,  AND  LITERA- 
TURE OF  BABYLON    .  .     .  1 


CHAPTER  II. 
THE  DIVINITY  OF  THE  HEARTH 31 

CHAPTER  III. 
THE  CABIRI 65 

BOOK   II. 
MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY. 

CHAPTER   IV. 

QUESTION   OF  THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  DOCUMENTS,  AND  OF  THE  ANALO- 
GIES  EXISTING    BETWEEN    THEM 101 

CHAPTER  V. 

CREATION  CONCEIVED  AS  A  TEMPLE,  AND  THE  TEMPLE  AS  AN  IMAGE 
OF  CREATION 133 

CHAPTER  VI. 

A  PARTICULAR  HEAVKN  AND  EARTH  REGARDED  AS  THE  ARCHETYPAL 
TEMPLE   .  .167 


XX 


GENERAL  CONTENTS. 


BOOK   III. 
THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH. 

CHAPTER   VII. 
THE  TERRESTRIAL  PARADISE  ASSIMILATED  TO  THE  GRKEK  HADES.    .  195 

CHAPTER   VIII. 
THE  THEORY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CIVILIZATIONS 233 

CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  EARTH  GODDESS 261 

BOOK   IV. 
THE  TWELVE  STARS  OF  PHCENICIA. 

CHAPTER  X. 
ZODIACAL  ARRANGEMENT  OF  THESE  ASTERISMS       283 

CHAPTER  XI. 
ZODIACAL  ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE  ANTEDILUVIAN  GENEALOGIES  .    .    .  301 

CHAPTER  XII. 
THE  CHERUBIM 324 

BOOK   V. 
ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY. 

CHAPTER   XIII. 
THE  PROBLEM  STATED  AND  ITS  CHIEF  POINTS  ELIMINATED     ....  343 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
PRIMITIVE  ADJUSTMENT  OF  THE  ZODIACAL  SYSTEM    ,  ...  372 


GENERAL  CONTENTS.  xxi 

CHAPTER  XV. 
THE  PRIMITIVE  CELESTIAL  POLE 394 

CONCLUDING   REMARKS. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

A  SUMMARY  OF  RESULTS 413 

LIST  OF  AUTHORS  AND  THEIR  WORKS ^ .  441 

PLATE  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PORTRAIT  OF  AUTHOR Frontispiece 

PLATE  1 33 

PLATE  II 144 

PLATE  III 284 

PLATE  IV 372 

PLATE  V. 395 


HAR-MOAD. 


BOOK  I. 

CUSHITE  ARCHEOLOGY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CUSHITE   ORIGIN   OF  THE   SACRED   WRITING,   LANGUAGE,   AND 
LITERATURE   OF   BABYLON. 

SECTION  1.  The  problem  whose  solution  is  to  be  attempted  in 
this  chapter  is  one  upon  which  I  should  hesitate  to  enter,  did  it  not 
seem  forcibly  to  present  itself,  as  the  first  difficulty  to  be  encoun- 
tered, in  the  investigations  to  which  the  following  pages  are  devoted. 
The  cuneiform  system  of  writing,  together  with  the  more  ancient 
language  and  literature  of  which  it  was  made  the  depository,  is  to 
constitute  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  information  upon  the  subjects 
treated  in  the  present  volume.  It  would  be  desirable,  if  possible, 
not  only  to  determine  who  were  the  inventors  of  this  paleographical 
system,  but  to  fix  ethnologically  their  character,  as  well  as  to  clas- 
sify their  language  and  literature.  To  be  able  to  settle  these  points 
satisfactorily  would  facilitate  in  some  measure  the  investigations  to 
follow,  although  it  could  not  be  said  by  any  means  to  constitute 
their  basis.  But  unfortunately  these  questions  are  involved  in 
obscurities  and  difficulties,  the  nature  and  extent  of  which  can  be 
fully  appreciated  only  by  those  who  have  devoted  to  them  the  most 
careful  consideration.  I  am  aware  that,  among  cuneiform  scholars, 
a  theory  has  been  adopted,  being  now  held  by  the  majority,  pro- 
bably, which  affirms  the  Turanian,  or  more  definitely  the  Ugro-Fin- 
nish  character  of  the  people,  language,  literature,  etc.,  to  which  we 
refer ;  and  that  for  a  still  more  specific  and  local  designation,  the 


2  HAR-MOAD. 

term  Accadian,  derived  from  Akkad,  Biblical  "  Accad,"  is  coming 
gradually  into  use ;  if  not  for  its  technical  accuracy,  at  least  for  the 
sake  of  convenience  and  uniformity.  At  first,  I  adopted  without 
hesitation  the  theory  and  terminology  here  indicated.  But  every 
subsequent  attempt  to  give  a  scientific  account  of  them,  especially 
in  view  of  the  recent  discussions  of  these  questions  in  France,  only 
served  to  render  apparent  the  extreme  uncertainty  in  which  the 
entire  subject  is  involved.  The  very  pertinent  and  suggestive 
remarks  of  M.  Ernest  Renan,  in  his  annual  report  to  the  Asiatic 
Society  of  France,  for  the  year  1875,  the  substance  of  which  as 
bearing  upon  our  subject  will  be  hereafter  presented,  have  finally 
afforded  me  the  hint  that  has  determined  the  course  of  investiga- 
tions in  the  present  chapter.  M.  Renan  has  employed  the  term 
Oushite,  a  title  that  suggests  at  once  the  theory  and  terminology 
in  perfect  accord  with  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  original  settlement 
of  the  Euphrates  valley,  and  which  ought,  when  properly  applied, 
to  offer  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  all  the  facts  pertaining  to  our 
problems.  Indeed,  the  hypothesis,  substantially,  long  since  pro- 
posed by  the  Messrs.  Rawlinson,  if  it  had  been  more  critically  and 
consistently  worked  out,  contained  all  the  elements  of  a  complete 
solution  of  these  questions.  I  cannot  hope  by  any  efforts  of  my 
own  to  supply  fully  the  defects  of  the  hypothesis  here  alluded  to, 
but  the  materials  so  abundantly  supplied  by  others,  together  with 
the  suggestions  afforded  by  the  recent  discussions  of  French  Assyri- 
ologties,  ought  to  constitute  some  ground  of  confidence  in  a  partial 
success  in  this  direction.  I  avail  myself,  first,  of  the  advantage  of 
M.  Renan's  valuable  and  critical  remarks. 

SEC.  2.  In  the  year  1874,  M.  Jos.  Halevy  had  submitted  a  learned 
paper  to  the  Asiatic  Society,  in  which  he  strongly  protested  against 
the  theory,  to  use  his  own  expression,  of  "  the  pretended  Turanians 
of  Babylon  ; "  insisting  upon  the  strictly  Semitic  character  of  the 
population,  language,  literature,  as  well  as  paleographical  system 
appertaining  to  the  Chaldaeo-Assyrian  empires.1  Although  not  him- 
self a  specialist  in  cuneiform  studies,  his  familiarity  with  the  Ham- 
ite  and  Semitic  formations  of  language  enabled  M.  Halevy  not  only 
to  expose  the  weaker  points  of  the  Turanian  hypothesis,  but  to 
develop  some  quite  serious  objections  to  it.  Dr.  Jules  Oppert,  hav- 
ing been  one  of  the- founders  of  cuneiform  science,  and  being  one  of 
1  Journal  Asiatique,  June,  1874,  pp.  461-536. 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  3 

the  first,  if  not  the  very  first,  to  proclaim  the  Turanian  origin  of  the 
Babylonian  civilization  and  culture,  was  naturally  the  one  to  whom 
all  eyes  were  turned  for  the  defense  of  a  theory  which  had  been 
adopted  by  the  majority  of  cuneiform  scholars,  but  which  was  now 
assailed  with  such  power.  Dr.  Oppert  is  a  man  of  great  ability, 
as  well  as  learning,  and  his  reply  was  worthy  of  his  distinguished 
reputation.1  It  proved,  to  say  the  least,  that  M.  Haldvy's  argument 
was  in  no  sense  a  finality.  The  fact  that  the  primitive  language, 
as  it  appears  in  the  earliest  inscriptions,  was  so  different  from  the 
Semitic,  or  the  Semitic-Assyrian,  as  to  render  the  bilingual  texts 
necessary,  the  translation  of  one  idiom  into  another,  was  seen  at 
once  to  be  fatal  to  the  extreme  Semitic  theory.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  was  to  be  admitted  that  M.  HaleVy  had  essentially  weakened  the 
ultra-Turanian  hypothesis.  The  inquiry  at  this  stage  of  the  discus- 
sion almost  forced  itself  upon  the  minds  of  scholars :  whether  a 
middle  ground  did  not  exist  between  the  two  extremes  ?  In  other 
words,  was  it  not  possible  to  suppose  here  an  original  Hamite  or 
Cushite  formation,  which  had  served  as  the  basis  of  Babylonian 
civilization  and  culture  ?  It  is  at  this  point  that  the  remarks  of 
M.  Renan  should  be  introduced.  With  his  habitual  caution  under 
such  circumstances,  this  eminent  critic  proceeds  :  — 

"  We  doubt  then,  even  now,  notwithstanding  the  impression 
made  upon  us  by  the  learned  authorities,  and  by  certain  facts  suffi- 
ciently striking,  whether  the  foundation  of  the  Assyrian  civilization 
was  Turanian.  We  do  not  believe,  on  the  other  hand,  that  it  was 
Semitic.  We  regard  our  position  as  unaffected  by  the  proofs, 
according  to  which  M.  Oppert  was  able  to  show  twenty  years  since, 
that  the  cuneiform  system  of  writing  was  an  importation^  and  that, 
in  the  Assyrian  texts,  properly  speaking,  it  was  applied  to  a  lan- 
guage for  which  it  was  never  invented.  For  what  language  was  this 
invention  ?  We  fear  to  add  only  new  elements  to  a  confusion  worse 
than  that  of  Babel,  in  reminding  you  of  a  class  of  scholars  some 
twenty  years  ago,  among  whom  I  esteem  the  venerable  Baron 
D'Eckstein,  now  too  much  neglected,  as  holding  the  first  rank, 
scholars  who  ventured,  rashly  without  doubt,  to  designate  this 
primitive  formation  by  the  name  of  Cushite,  placing  it  in  affinity 
with  the  Hamite  civilization.  This  Hamite  and  Cushite  founda- 
tion, constituting  the  two  civilizations  of  Egypt  and  Assyria,  equal 
in  antiquity,  closely  resembling  each  other,  and  withal  anterior  to 
the  entrance  of  the  Aryans  and  Semites  into  history,  was  for  us  a 

1  Journal  Asiatique,  May-June,  1875,  pp.  442-497. 


4  HAR-MOAD. 

seducing  hypothesis.  It  is  easy  to  find  a  better  one,  without  doubt, 
but  the  proof  is  wanting ;  and  we  still  refuse  to  see  in  the  most 
ancient  civilization  of  Babylon  the  work  of  Finns  and  Lapps."  1 

In  his  annual  report  the  year  before,  M.  Renan  had  alluded  to 
these  questions,  and  had  used  the  following  language :  — 

"  If  we  employ  the  term  Turanian  in  its  strict  sense,  if  we  attri- 
bute the  origin  of  the  refined  civilization  of  Babylon  to  the  Turks, 
Finns,  and  Hungarians,  to  races,  in  fact,  who  have  only  destroyed, 
but  have  never  created  a  civilization  of  their  own,  we  simply  declare 
that  this  astonishes  us."  2 

Thus,  M.  Renan  is  unable  to  see  in  the  Lapps  and  Finns,  or  in 
any  people  directly  related  to  them  ethnologically,  for  whom  it 
would  be  impossible  otherwise  to  prove  a  world-historical  impor- 
tance, the  real  founders  of  a  civilization  that  filled  all  antiquity 
with  its  renown.  He  would  much  prefer  to  recognize  here  the 
mental  and  physical  activity  of  a  race  that  never  failed  to  mark  its 
progress  with  powerful  dynasties,  with  monuments  of  industry  and 
grandeur.  It  would  be  very  difficult  for  any  one,  I  think,  not  to 
be  more  or  less  affected  with  similar  sentiments.  But  as  regards 
the  hypothesis  put  forth  by  him,  the  author  here  referred  to  makes 
no  pretensions  to  originality.  On  the  contrary,  he  but  asks  for  a 
reconsideration  of  the  views  of  a  former  period,  advanced  by  those 
to  whom  modern  criticism  is  indebted  for  many  of  its  most  splendid 
achievements.  In  other  words,  the  Cushite  origin  of  the  Chaldaso- 
Assyrian  civilization,  which  is  substantially  the  basis  upon  which 
the  Messrs.  Rawlinson  labored  long  since  to  solve  the  problem  be- 
fore us,  constitutes  for  him  the  true  point  of  departure,  if  we  would 
arrive  at  permanent  and  satisfactory  results. 

SEC.  3.  The  theory  of  the  eminent  English  authorities  just 
named,  as  I  have  already  expressed  the  opinion,  contained  the  prin- 
cipal elements  of  truth,  respecting  the  subject  upon  which  we  have 
entered.  Some  defects  in  the  method  of  working  it  out,  if  my  esti- 
mate of  their  labors  here  is  correct,  were  the  chief  cause  of  its  being 
to  a  great  extent  abandoned  by  cuneiform  scholars,  and  of  the  adop- 
tion of  the  extreme  Turanian  hypothesis  as  the  substitute.  As  a 
basis  of  further  criticism  and  progress,  it  will  be  most  convenient  to 
present  in  some  detail  the  scheme  which  was  formerly  proposed  by 
these  authors.  In  the  llth  essay  published  in  the  first  volume  of 

1  Journal  Asiatique,  July,  1875,  pp.  39,  40.  2  Ibid.,  July,  1874,  p.  42. 


CUSHITE  ARCHEOLOGY.  5 

the  new  version  of  Herodotus  by  Rev.  Geo.  Rawlinson,  the  preface 
to  which  is  dated  January,  1858,  it  is  probable  that  we  should  find 
the  views  of  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  at  this  period,  although  his  ini- 
tials are  not  attached  to  this  paper  in  the  American  edition  of  the 
work.  At  the  early  stage  of  cuneiform  researches  here  indicated, 
it  would  be  unreasonable  to  demand  matured  opinions  on  such  a 
difficult  subject,  even  from  the  founders  of  the  science,  among  whom 
Sir  Henry  is  to  be  placed  in  the  foremost  ranks.  In  the  essay  to 
which  I  refer,  the  Turanians  are  regarded  as  the  primitive  popula- 
tion, settled  in  the  valleys  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris.  At  that 
epoch  linguistic  differences  had  not  become  very  marked  ;  but  grad- 
ually the  Hamite  or  Cushite  formation  made  its  appearance,  and 
out  of  this  Semitism  was  developed ;  an  event  which  the  author  is 
inclined  to  date  from  about  2000  years  B.  c.  In  his  table  of  eth- 
nological affinities  appended  to  the  essay,  the  writer  places  the 
Hamites,  including  the  Susianians,  Chaldasans,  etc.,  in  the  general 
category  of  Turanian  populations.  But  it  is  clear  that  he  does  not 
consider  the  Turanians,  strictly  so  termed,  as  the  inventors  of  the 
cuneiform  system  of  writing,  and  the  founders  of  the  Babylonian 
civilization.  It  is  only  when  the  original  Turanian  has  developed 
itself  into  the  Hamite  or  Cushite  formation  that  this  invention 
and  civilizing  process  definitely  take  place.  Thus  their  really 
Cushite  or  Hamite  origin  is  the  hypothesis  to  which  the  mind  of 
the  author  is  evidently  inclined,  at  this  early  stage  of  cuneiform 
research.  We  subjoin  here  some  extracts  embodying  his  views, 
from  which  our  interpretation  of  them  has  been  drawn :  — 

"  The  monuments  of  Babylon  furnish  abundant  evidence  of  the 
fact  that  a  Hamite  race  held  possession  of  that  country  in  the  ear- 
liest times,  and  continued  to  be  a  powerful  element  in  the  popula- 
tion down  to  a  period  but  very  little  preceding  the  accession  of 
Nebuchadnezzar.  The  most  ancient  historical  records  found  in  the 
country,  and  many  of  the  religious  and  scientific  documents  to  the 
time  of  the  conqueror  of  Judsea,  are  written  in  a  language  which 
belongs  to  the  Allophylian  family,  presenting  affinities  with  the 
dialects  of  Africa  on  the  one  hand,  and  with  those  of  high  Asia  on 
the  other.  The  people  by  whom  this  language  was  spoken,  whose 
principal  tribe  was  the  Akkad,  may  be  regarded  as  represented  by 
the  Chaldseans  of  the  Greeks,  the  Casdein  of  the  Hebrew  writers. 
This  race  seems  to  have  gradually  developed  the  type  of  language 
known  as  Semitism,  which  became  in  the  course  of  time  the  general 
language  of  the  country ;  still,  as  a  priest-caste  a  portion  of  the 


6  HAR-MOAD. 

Akkad  preserved  their  ancfent  tongue,  and  formed  the  learned  and 
scientific  Chaldeans  of  later  times." 

"  The  early  Babylonian  language,  in  its  affinity  with  the  Susianian, 
the  second  column  of  the  cuneiform  trilingual  inscriptions,  the 
Armenian  cuneiform,  and  the  Mantchoo  Tartar  on  the  one  hand ; 
with  the  Galla,  the  Gheez,  and  the  ancient  Egyptian  on  the  other, 
may  be  cited  as  a  proof  of  the  original  unity  between  the  languages 
of  Africa  and  Asia;  a  unity  sufficiently  shadowed  out  in  Genesis 
(x.  6-20),  and  confirmed  by  the  manifold  traditions  concerning  the 
two  Ethiopics,  the  Cushites  above  Egypt,  and  the  Cushites  of  the 
Persian  Gulf.  Hamitism,  then,  although  no  doubt  the  form  of 
speech  out  of  which  Semitism  was  developed,  is  itself  rather  Tura- 
nian than  Semite." 

"  The  primitive  or  Turanian  character  of  speech  exhibited  a  power 
of  development,  becoming  first  Hamite,  and  then,  after  a  consider- 
able interval,  and  by  a  fresh*  effort,  throwing  out  Semitism.  It  is 
impossible  to  say  at  what  exact  time  the  form  of  speech  as  Hamite 
originated.  Probably  its  rise  preceded  the  invention  of  letters, 
and  there  are  reasons  for  assigning  the  origination  of  the  change  to 
Egypt."  "  The  development  of  Semitism,  as  has  been  already  re- 
marked, belongs  to  the  early  part  of  the  20th  century  B.  c.,  long 
subsequently  to  the  time  when  Hamite  kingdoms  were  set  up  on 
the  banks  of  the  Nile  and  of  the  Euphrates."  1 

SEC.  4.  We  have  introduced  some  of  the  briefer  extracts  at  the 
close,  with  a  view  to  indicate  Sir  Rawlinson's  general  ideas,  at  the 
time,  as  regards  the  actual  period  to  which  the  rise  of  Hamitism 
should  be  assigned.  He  very  prudently  declines  to  fix  the  date, 
and  it  would  be  hazardous  for  any  one  to  do  so  even  at  the  present 
day.  However,  as  he  dates  the  rise  of  Semitism  in  the  20th  cen- 
tury B.  c.,  long  after  the  development  of  Hamitism,  he  could  not 
assign  the  latter  consistently  to  a  period  later  than  the  24th  or 
25th  century  before  our  era.  The  authors  chronological  estimate 
for  the  rise  of  Semitism  is  remarkably  correct,  even  in  the  light  of 
all  the  facts  known  to-day ;  for  it  would  be  difficult  to  prove  the 
existence  of  this  form  of  speech  at  a  period  much  earlier.  The 
indications  are,  however,  that  Hamitism  preceded  by  some  centu- 
ries the  dates  assigned  to  it  above.  According  to  the  views  of  M.  F. 
Lenormant,  a  Cushite  development  existed  at  Babylon  long  prior 
to  the  era  of  Urukh,  or  Lik-Bagas,  the  earliest  known  king  of  Chal- 
dsea.2  As  to  the  period  of  Urukh's  reign,  Rev.  Geo.  Rawlinson 
remarks :  — 

1  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  i.  p.  525,  note  ;  and  pp.  526,  533,  534. 

2  Vid.  La  Magie,  pp.  295,  29«. 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  7 

"  We  must  place  his  accession  at  least  as  early  as  B.  C.  2326 ;  pos- 
sibly it  may  have  fallen  a  century  earlier."  l 

These  data  seem  to  necessitate  a  chronology,  for  the  origin  of  the 
Cushite  development  of  Babylon,  of  at  least  2500  to  3000  years 
B.  C.  But  as  regards  the  ethnological  character  of  the  language, 
writing,  and  literature  of  which  there  is  here  question,  it  is  apparent 
that  Sir  Henry  was  strongly  inclined,  when  he  wrote  the  foregoing 
extracts,  to  the  Hamite  or  Cushite  hypothesis.  He  places  the  in- 
vention of  letters  after  the  development  of  Hamitism.  But  he 
identifies  the  Cushites  with  the  Accadians,  and  likewise  with  the 
Chaldaeans.  Here  are  two  elements  of  confusion,  judging  from  the 
standpoint  of  cuneiform  scholars.  The  Accadians  are  now  sup- 
posed, by  the  majority  of  Assyriologues,  to  have  been  Turanians, 
strictly  speaking ;  while  others  regard  the  Chaldaeans  of  Babylon  as 
properly  Semites.  The  classification  of  the  Hamites  under  the  gen- 
eral category  of  Turanian  populations,  regarded  from  the  point  of 
view  now  generally  adopted,  is  not  sufficiently  definite  for  scientific 
purposes,  and  tends  to  complicate  the  problem  before  us.  Never- 
theless, the  affinities  traced,  and  correctly  too,  between  the  sacred 
language  of  Babylon  and  the  Galla,  Gheez,  etc.,  of  Africa  on  one 
hand,  and  the  languages  of  high  Asia  on  the  other,  point  toward 
a  mingling  of  Hamite  and  Turanian  elements  in  one  general  devel- 
opment, which  might  be  designated  either  as  Hamite  or  Turanian, 
yet  too  loosely  for  the  purposes  of  strict  accuracy.  The  Hamite 
element  allies  itself  to  the  dialects  of  Africa,  and  the  Turanian  to 
those  of  high  Asia ;  there  is  a  marked  difference  between  them ; 
and  it  is  necessary  to  maintain  this  distinction  if  we  would  attain  to 
anything  like  scientific  results.  It  was  chiefly  for  the  want  of  this, 
as  it  appears  to  me,  that  the  theory  proposed  by  the  Messrs.  Raw- 
linson,  as  a  solution  of  the  problem  in  question,  proved  to  be  quite 
inadequate,  at  the  same  time  that  it  involved  nearly  all  the  elements 
of  a  correct  solution.  We  pass  now  to  a  consideration  of  the  views 
of  Rev.  Geo.  Rawlinson,  who  devotes  an  entire  chapter  to  the  sub- 
ject before  us,  in  the  second  edition  of  his  "  Five  Monarchies,"  etc. 
The  author's  theory  may  be  inferred  generally  from  the  subjoined 
passage :  — 

"  On  the  whole,  therefore,  it  seems  most  probable  that  the  race 
designated  in  Scripture  by  the  hero-founder  Nimrod,  and  among  the 

1  Five  Monarchies,  i.  p.  156. 


HAR-MOAD. 

Greeks  by  the  eponym  of  *Belus,  passed  from  East  Africa,  by  way 
of  Arabia,  to  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates,  shortly  before  the  open- 
ing of  the  historical  period.  Upon  the  ethnic  basis  here  indicated, 
there  was  grafted,  it  would  seem,  at  a  very  early  period,  a  second, 
probably  Turanian  element,  which  very  importantly  affected  the 
character  and  composition  of  the  people.  The  Burbur  or  Akkad. 
who  are  found  to  have  been  a  principal  tribe  under  the  early  kings, 
are  connected  by  name,  religion,  and  in  some  degree  by  language, 
with  an  important  people  of  Armenia,  called  Burbur  and  Urarda, 
the  Alarodians  (apparently)  of  Herodotus.  It  has  been  conjectured 
that  this  race  at  a  very  remote  date  descended  upon  the  plain  coun- 
try, conquering  the  original  Cushite  inhabitants,  and  by  degrees 
blending  with  them,  though  the  fusion  remained  incomplete  to  the 
time  of  Abraham.  The  language  of  the  early  inscriptions,  though 
Cushite  in  its  vocabulary,  is  Turanian  in  many  points  of  its  gram- 
matical structure,  as  in  its  use  of  post-positions,  particles,  and  pro- 
nominal suffixes ;  and  it  would  seem,  therefore,  scarcely  to  admit  of  a 
doubt  that  the  Cushites  of  Lower  Babylon  must  in  some  way  or  other 
have  become  mixed  with  a  Turanian  people.  The  mode  and  time 
of  the  commixture  are  matters  altogether  beyowd  our  knowledge."  l 

The  author  does  not  state  definitely,  in  the  foregoing  extract,  to 
which  of  the  two  peoples  brought  into  view  by  him  he  would  at- 
tribute the  sacred  writing  and  science  of  Babylon,  and  the  original 
foundation  of  her  civilization.  But  the  language  following  seems 
to  imply  that  the  Cushites  were  the  principals  in  this  work :  — 

"  For  the  last  three  thousand  years,  the  world  has  been  mainly 
indebted  for  its  advancement  to  the  Semitic  and  Indo-European 
races ;  but  it  was  otherwise  in  the  first  ages.  Egypt  and  Babylon, 
Mizraim  and  Nimrod,  both  descendants  of  Ham,  led  the  way,  and 
acted  as  the  pioneers  of  mankind  in  the  various  untrodden  fields  of 
art,  literature,  and  science.  Alphabetic  writing,  astronomy,  history, 
chronology,  architecture,  plastic  art,  sculpture,  navigation,  agricul- 
ture, textile  industry,  seem,  all  of  them,  to  have  had  their  origin  in 
one  or  other  of  these  two  countries."  2 


1  Five  Monarchies,  i.  pp.  54,  55. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  60.     From  the  author's  language  cited  in  the  text,  we  would  natu- 
rally infer  the  Cushite  origin  of  the  cuneiform  system  of  writing.     But  formerly 
Sir  H.  Rawlinson  had  been  strongly  inclined  to  trace  the  origin  of  this  system 
to  the  Hamites  of  Egypt.     Thus  he  observed  :  — 

"Whether  the  cuneiform  letters,  in  their  primitive  shapes,  were  intended,  like 
the  hieroglyphs,  to  represent  actual  objects,  and  were  afterwards  degraded  to  their 
present  forms;  or  whether  the  point  of  departure  was  from  the  hieratic,  or  per- 
haps the  demotic  character,  the  first  change  from  a  picture  to  a  sign  having  thus 
taken  place  before  Assyria  formed  her  alphabet,  I  will  not  undertake  to  decide; 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  9 

SEC.  5.  Such  are  the  principal  points  in  the  theory  relative  to 
the  problem  before  us,  as  it  passed  from  the  hands  of  the  author  in 
1871,  the  date  of  the  volume  from  which  the  quotations  have  been 
made.  The  last  extract  seems  to  affirm  the  Cushite  origin  of  the 
Babylonian  civilization  in  all  its  characteristics.  Yet  the  author 
appears  in  other  passages  to  attribute  all  this  to  the  Chaldaeans ; 
and  by  the  Chaldaeans  he  means,  as  expressly  stated  by  him,  the 
mixed  population  composed  chiefly  of  Cushites  from  Africa  and 
Turanians  from  the  north,  together  with  a  less  proportion  at  first 
of  Semitic  and  even  Aryan  elements.  As  relates  to  our  general 
problem,  and  especially  with  a  view  to  definite  conceptions,  the 
term  Chaldcean  ought  to  be  excluded  from  the  discussion,  since  it  is 
connected  in  the  past,  and  even  in  the  present  state  of  science,  with 
so  many  different  and  quite  contradictory  ideas.  Hardly  two  writ- 
ers could  be  named  who  attach  to  this  term  precisely  the  same  eth- 
nological value ;  and  it  is  to  me  somewhat  doubtful  whether  Rev. 
Rawlinson  himself  employs  it  uniformly  in  the  same  sense.  The 
designation  of  the  Babylonian  civilization,  therefore,  as  Chaldsean 
appears  to  me  quite  objectionable,  since  the  true  import  of  this  title 
is  far  from  being  settled.  Another  point  made  by  the  author,  in- 
volving no  small  degree  of  uncertainty,  is  the  supposed  conquest  of 
the  Cushites  of  Babylon  at  a  remote  period,  by  a  Turanian  race, 
the  Burbur  or  Urarda,  descending  from  the  mountains  of  Armenia. 
Directly  opposed  to  this  view  is  the  opinion  of  many  Assyriologues, 
that  an  original  Turanian  population  was  conquered  by  a  Semitic 
race.  It  would  be  difficult  to  reconcile  those  two  suppositions,  and 
much  more  so,  to  produce  really  conclusive  evidence  in  favor  of 
either  of  them.  The  ground  here  is  debatable  even  at  the  present 

but  the  whole  structure  of  the  Assyrian  graphic  system  evidently  "betrays  an  Egyptian 
origin."  —  Commentary  on  the  Cuneif.  Inscript.  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria.  Lon- 
don, 1850,  p.  4. 

This  extract  was  penned  as  early  as  1850.  No  one  now  would  think  of  deriv- 
ing the  cuneiform  system  from  Egypt.  Jt  is  curious  to  note  the  great  changes 
that  have  taken  place  in  the  views  of  cuneiform  scholars  since  the  foregoing 
extract  was  published.  That  the  cuneiform  system  originated  in  high  Asia,  in- 
stead of  in  Egypt,  or  in  a  region  far  to  the  north  or  northeast,  in  relation  to 
Babylonia,  seems  at  the  present  day  to  be  a  well-established  fact.  As  regards  the 
original  form  of  the  characters,  there  seems  to  be  no  proof  that  they  were  pic- 
tures of  concrete  objects.  What  is  termed  their  hieratic  form,  which  rarely  shows 
any  trace  of  hieroglyphism,  was  probably  primitive.  There  exists  no  proof  to  the 
contrary. 


10 


HAR-MOAD. 


time,  and  it  is  thus  an  *  element  of  doubt,  so  far  as  concerns  our 
general  problem.  But  the  most  objectionable  position  assumed  by 
the  author  is  that  which  derives  the  primitive  Cushite  population 
of  Babylon  from  East  Africa,  or  the  Ethiopia  above  Egypt.  The 
Cushites  of  Africa,  judging  from  the  notices  of  them  upon  the 
Egyptian  monuments,  had  not  assumed  any  importance  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Middle  Empire,  dating  from  the  twelfth  dynasty.1 
An  emigration  to  the  Euphrates  before  this  period,  therefore,  is 
hardly  to  be  supposed ;  and  one  subsequently  to  it  would  not  an- 
swer the  conditions  of  the  problem,  for  Babylon  must  have  been 
settled  long  before.  Again,  the  earliest  traditions  of  Southern 
Arabia  are  directly  in  conflict  with  Rev.  G.  Rawlinson's  views  re- 
specting such  an  emigration.  According  to  the  investigations  of  M. 
Caussin  de  Perceval,  followed  by  those  of  M.  F.  Lenormant,  the 
first  Cushite  dynasty  of  Southern  Arabia,  under  the  name  of  "  The 
Adites,"  was  founded  by  colonists  from  the  Euphrates,  being  over- 
thrown about  eighteen  centuries  B.  c.  It  was  followed  by  another 
Cushite  dynasty  bearing  the  same  name,  which  was  destroyed  by 
the  Joctanian  Arabians.2  Now,  the  commencement  of  the  first 
dynasty,  whose  overthrow  is  dated  1800  years  B.  c.,  must  be  carried 
back  to  at  least  2000  years  before  our  era,  at  which  period  a  move- 
ment of  Cushite  populations  takes  place  from  the  Euphrates  into 
Arabia.  It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  these  data  do  not  admit  of 
any  such  emigration  from  East  Africa,  through  Arabia,  to  Babylon, 
as  Rev.  Rawlinson  supposes.  Finally,  our  author's  position  is 
opposed  to  the  usual  interpretations  of  the  Mosaic  account  of  the 
first  settlement  of  Babylon.  The  direction  of  the  movement  of  pop- 
ulations to  the  land  of  Shinar,  under  the  leadership  of  Nirnrod,  is 
said  to  have  been  from  the  east  instead  of  from  the  west  or  south- 
west :  that  is  to  say,  from  the  African  Ethiopia. 

It  will  be  seen,  from  the  foregoing  remarks,  that  the  solution  of 
the  problem  upon  which  we  are  engaged,  as  originally  proposed  by 
Sir  Henry  Rawlinson,  and  more  recently  worked  out  by  Rev. 
George  Rawlinson,  must  be  regarded  as  defective  in  some  impor- 
tant particulars  ;  although,  as  I  have  already  expressed  the  convic- 
tion, it  contains  all  the  essential  elements  of  a  satisfactory  theory 

1  Vid.  F.  Chabas,  Etudes  V  Antiq.  Historique,  p.  132. 

2  Vid.  Lenormant,  Man.  d'Hist.  Ancienne,  etc.,  t.  iii.  pp.  256-258  ;  and  261- 
263. 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  11 

upon  the  subject  to  which  it  relates.  So  far  as  I  know,  a  really  sci- 
entific value  was  never  claimed  for  it ;  nothing  more,  in  fact,  than 
a  statement  of  the  leading  facts,  together  with  such  inferences  drawn 
from  them  as  the  authors  believed  legitimate.  For  strictly  scientific 
purposes,  the  theory  was  put  forth  in  terms  too  general,  and  it 
lacked  certain  critical  distinctions  that  would  be  desirable,  so  far  as 
the  state  of  knowledge  permitted.  It  is  quite  possible  that  at  the 
present  writing  the  authors  themselves  have  modified  their  views 
somewhat,  and,  indeed,  I  believe  Sir  Henry  is  to-day  much  inclined 
to  favor  the  Turanian  rather  than  the  Cushite  hypothesis.  Be  this 
as  it  may,  it  was  quite  certain  that  cuneiform  scholars  would  not  be 
long  satisfied  with  a  theory  involving  so  many  points  of  doubt.  The 
attempt  would  be  made  to  narrow  the  problem  down,  to  reduce  it 
to  as  few  elements  as  possible ;  and  we  pass  now  to  an  examination 
of  the  later  phases  assumed  by  these  questions  ;  to  the  opinions,  in 
fact,  as  at  present  held  by  the  majority  of  Assyriologues. 

SEC.  6.  The  two  ethnic  titles  —  admitting  for  the  present  that 
they  have  strictly  an  ethnological  value  —  which  appear  most  fre- 
quently in  the  cuneiform  texts,  relating  to  the  ancient  populations 
settled  upon  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates,  are  Sumir  and  Akkad,  des- 
ignating the  countries,  or  Sumeri  and  Akkadi,  applied  to  the  people 
inhabiting  them.  As  usually  held,  the  first  named  were  properly 
Semites,  while  the  others  were  Turanians.  Dr.  Jules  Oppert,  how- 
ever, maintains  that  the  Sumeri  were  the  real  Turanians  of  Baby- 
lon, the  Akkadi  being  regarded  by  him  as  a  Semitic  population. 
Not  to  enter  here  upon  a  discussion  of  this  question,  the  opinions  of 
the  majority  will  be  adopted.  The  Accadians,  then,  were  properly 
the  Turanians  of  the  Euphrates  valley  ;  and  they  were,  as  now 
held,  the  inventors  of  the  cuneiform  system  of  writing,  as  well  as 
the  founders  of  the  Babylonian  civilization.  They  were  the  Finns 
and  Lapps  to  which  M.  Renan  has  alluded.  Of  course,  he  does  not 
believe  the  Accadians  were  such  ;  and  even  the  advocates  of  the 
Turanian  hypothesis  regard  them  as  only  distantly  related  to  the 
Lapps  and  Finns  of  modern  times.  Mr.  George  Smith  gives  ex- 
pression to  the  present  views  of  most  cuneiform  scholars  in  the  pas- 
sage here  subjoined  :  — 

"  Intimately  connected  with  these  historical  studies  is  the  ques- 
tion of  the  origin  and  history  of  the  great  Turanian  race  which  first 
established  civilization  in  the  Euphrates  valley.  It  is  the  opinion 


12  HAR-MOAD. 


of  the  majority  of  Assyrfan  scholars  that  the  civilization,  literature, 
mythology,  and  science  of  Babylon  and  Assyria,  were  not  the  work 
of  a  Semitic  race,  but  of  a  totally  different  people,  speaking  a  lan- 
guage quite  distinct  from  that  of  all  the  Semitic  tribes.  There  is, 
however,  a  more  remarkable  point  than  this  ;  it  is  supposed  that  at 
a  very  early  period  the  Akkad  or  Turanian  population,  with  its 
high  cultivation  and  remarkable  civilization,  was  conquered  by  the 
Semitic  race,  and  that  the  conquerors  imposed  only  their  language 
on  the  conquered,  adopting  from  the  subjugated  people  its  mytho- 
logy, laws,  literature,  and  almost  every  art  of  civilization.  Such  a 
curious  revolution  would  be  without  parallel  in  the  history  of  the 
world,  and  the  most  singular  point  in  connection  with  the  subject 
is  the  entire  silence  of  the  inscriptions  as  to  any  such  conquest. 
There  does  not  appear  any  break  in  their  traditions,  or  change  in 
the  character  of  the  country  to  mark  this  great  revolution,  and  the 
question  of  how  the  change  was  effected,  or  when  it  took  place,  is  at 
present  quite  obscure." 1 

If  Mr.  Smith  had  aimed  to  overthrow  completely  the  hypothesis 
which  he  explains,  it  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  a  more  effectual 
method  of  doing  so  than  by  the  statements  contained  in  the  last 
half  of  the  foregoing  extract,  assuming  them  to  be  correct,  which 
they  undoubtedly  are.  It  is  morally  impossible  that  a  series  of  cir- 
cumstances, such  as  he  describes,  should  occur  in  the  natural  history 
of  any  nation  or  country.  As  the  writer  well  observes,  it  would  be 
"  without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  world."  According  to  the 
terms  of  the  description,  the  Semites  must  have  been  in  a  semi-bar- 
barous condition  ;  an  ignorant,  nomadic  race,  at  the  period  of  their 
conquest  of  the  highly  cultured  Accadian  population  ;  for  they  are 
said  to  have  borrowed  from  the  conquered  people  "  its  mythology, 
laws,  literature,  and  almost  every  art  of  civilized  life."  In  the  first 
place,  then,  for  a  rude,  uncultured  race  to  impose  its  language  upon 
a  highly  civilized  people,  at  the  same  time  adopting  its  mythology, 
literature,  science,  institutions  and  laws,  and  even  its  mode  of  writ- 
ing, is  virtually  a  contradiction  of  terms.  If,  however,  such  an 
anomalous  event  be  supposed,  for  the  conquerors  to  so  obliterate  all 
traces  of  a  revolution  thus  radical  that  the  keen  eye  of  modern 
criticism  is  unable  to  detect  them,  and  to  show  that  the  continuity 
of  development  has  been  interrupted,  the  chain  of  traditionary  ideas 
broken,  must  be  regarded,  I  think,  as  wholly  incredible.  Reverse 
all  the  conditions  of  this  statement ;  say  that  it  was  a  cultured  race 
1  Assyr.  Discoveries,  pp.  449,  450. 


CUSHITE  ARCHEOLOGY.  13 

that  imposed  its  language,  literature,  institutions,  and  laws  upon  a 
people  ignorant  and  barbarous,  effacing  from  history  all  indications 
of  the  previous  condition,  —  there  is  then  nothing  in  the  proposition 
that  is  repugnant  to  reason.  But  it  would  require  sufficient  proof 
of  such  a  change  as  having  taken  place,  before  assuming  it  as  a 
basis  of  scientific  conclusions.  According  to  the  supposition  this, 
too,  is  wanting.  Regarding,  then,  the  language  of  Mr.  Smith  as 
embodying  the  actual  conditions  of  the  problem,  the  only  natural 
solution  of  it  is  that  no  such  revolution  as  supposed  has  ever 
occurred  in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates. 

SEC.  7.  The  passage  cited  from  Mr.  Smith  in  the  last  section, 
although  it  seems  to  embody  his  own  views  upon  the  subject,  was 
never  intended  as  a  formal  and  critical  statement  of  the  Turanian 
hypothesis  relative  to  the  origin  of  the  Babylonian  civilization.  In 
fact,  the  ground  assumed  is  an  extreme  one  as  compared  with  the 
opinions  of  some  of  the  most  distinguished  advocates  of  the  theory 
referred  to,  among  whom  I  include  especially  M.  F.  Lenormant. 
This  eminent  French  Assyriologue  has  been  inclined  heretofore  to 
admit  the  existence  of  a  powerful  Cushite  influence  in  the  early  his- 
tory of  Babylon,  and  since  the  discussions  of  these  questions  in 
France,  to  which  reference  has  been  made,  he  appears  to  be  still 
more  positively  disposed  in  this  direction.  In  view  of  the  remarks 
of  M.  Renan  in  1874,  M.  Lenormant  expresses  himself  as  follows : 

"  It  will  be  seen  that  I  am  far  from  attributing  to  the  Turanians, 
primitively  settled  in  Chaldsea,  the  entire  work  of  the  high  civili- 
zation of  Babylon.  I  see  here  only  one  of  its  factors,  and  this  not 
the  most  important."  "  In  this  great  and  learned  civilization  the 
principal  and  the  most  noble  part  has  proceeded  from  the  Cushito- 
Semitic  element,  from  the  element  of  which  the  Assyrian  language 
became  the  national  idiom."  "  Babylon  in  particular,  at  least 
the  Babylon  of  historical  epochs,  has  been  always  preeminently 
Cushite."  l 

The  positions  assumed  in  these  extracts  do  not  differ  widely  from 
the  views  put  forth  by  Sir  H.  Rawlinson,  as  already  presented.  A 
blending  of  Turanian  and  Cushite  influences  is  expressly  held,  and 
by  far  the  greater  importance  is  attached  to  the  Cushite  element. 
On  the  whole,  it  is  sufficiently  obvious  that  something  of  a  reaction 
has  taken  place  in  the  author's  mind,  mainly  due  to  the  profound 

1  La  Magie,  pp.  305,  306. 


14  HAR-MOAD. 

criticisms  of  M.  Renan.  *  Indeed,  M.  Lenormant  is  free  to  admit 
that  he  may  have  been  somewhat  unguarded  in  his  statements  here- 
tofore. We  have  not  space  here  to  present  in  detail,  and  in  his  own 
language,  M.  Lenormant's  present  standpoint  respecting  our  general 
problem,  but  substantially  his  positions  are  the  following :  1st.  At 
Babylon,  as  well  as  throughout  Western  Asia,  perhaps,  the  really 
primitive  layer  of  population  was  Turanian.  Not  much  importance 
is  attached  to  it,  however,  in  the  work  of  Babylonian  civilization. 
2d.  Somewhat  later,  the  Cushite  race  took  possession  of  Babylonia 
in  particular,  and  then  commenced  definitely  the  civilizing  process. 
The  arts  and  sciences  were  cultivated,  such  as  astronomy  and  archi- 
tecture, and  the  astro-mythology  was  developed.  3d.  Still  later, 
perhaps,  the  Akkadi,  related  ethnologically  to  the  Finns  and  Lapps, 
more  directly  to  the  Urarda  of  Armenia,  descended  upon  the  plains 
of  Chaldsea,  bringing  with  them  the  original  system  of  writing  in  its 
cruder  form,  from  which  the  regular  cuneiform  of  later  epochs  pro- 
ceeded. The  Accadians  were  agriculturists  preeminently,  addicted 
to  magic,  and  to  the  worship  of  the  natural  elements.  4th.  The 
Babylonian  civilization  as  known  to  us  was  the  product  of  the 
admixture  of  all  these  elements,  the  Cushite  or  Cushito-Semitic 
influence  being  usually  in  the  ascendant.  The  population  last  des- 
ignated appertained  to  the  Sumir,  perhaps  the  Shinar  of  the  Mosaic 
text ;  while  the  Akkadi,  occupying  principally  the  country  of  Chal- 
dsea,  were  Turanians  strictly  speaking,  and  properly  the  Kaldi,  or 
the  Chaldaeans,  in  relation  to  whom  so  much  uncertainty  has  ex- 
isted. 

I  think  the  foregoing  outlines  represent  fairly  the  scheme  as  at 
present  held  by  M.  Lenormant,  whose  opinions,  certainly,  upon  sub- 
jects so  familiar  to  him  are  entitled  to  very  serious  consideration. 
The  marked  difference,  in  several  important  particulars,  between  this 
theory  and  that  already  set  forth  by  Mr.  Smith  will  be  readily  rec- 
ognized, and  the  variations  also  from  the  opinions  of  the  Messrs. 
Rawlinson  on  various  points  are  not  less  notable.  But,  on  the 
whole,  M.  Lenormant's  present  views  are  a  partial  return  to  the 
old  Cushite  hypothesis,  with  which  we  started  upon  these  investiga- 
tions. That  in  which  he  most  essentially  differs  from  this  scheme 
to-day,  pertains  to  the  original  invention  of  the  cuneiform  system 
of  writing,  which  he  still  holds  to  have  been  a  work  of  the  Ac- 
cadians, or,  in  other  words,  the  Turanians  of  Chaldsea.  This  point  is 


CUSHITE  ARCHEOLOGY.  15 

to  me  the  most  obscure,  and  the  least  satisfactory,  of  any  included 
in  the  author's  theory.  Were  the  Cushites  of  Babylon  destitute  of 
any  system  of  writing,  prior  to  the  settlement  of  the  Accadians  in 
Chaldsea  ?  It  would  be  extremely  difficult  to  sustain  such  a  thesis, 
and  would  tend  to  throw  many  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  solution 
of  our  problem.  The  oldest  inscriptions  of  Chaldsea,  being  exclu- 
sively of  the  hieratic  or  primitive  type,  appertain  to  the  period  of 
Urukh,  or  Lik-Bagas^  as  M.  Lenormant  proposes  to  read  this  name, 
and  cannot  be  dated  earlier  than  2500  years  B.  c.  At  this  time, 
according  to  our  author's  own  showing,  in  a  passage  to  be  hereafter 
cited,  the  Cushite  civilization  of  Babylon  had  attained  no  incon- 
siderable development;  and  even  Lik-Bagas  himself  was  but  an 
imitator  of  Babylonian  usages  and  a  convert  to  the  Cushite  religion. 
Yet  during  all  the  period  prior  to  this  date,  we  are  to  suppose  the 
Babylonian  development  had  proceeded  without  a  paleographical  sys- 
tem, being  finally  indebted  to  the  Accadians  of  Chaldsea  for  one 
which  had  been  an  importation  from  some  region  of  high  Asia. 
But  another  objection  to  the  ground  here  assumed  is  one  which  no 
man  can  better  appreciate  than  M.  Lenormant  himself.  I  refer  to 
the  vital  connection  which  exists  between  the  sacred  science  and 
traditions  of  Babylon  on  one  hand,  and  on  the  other,  the  very 
characters,  the  paleographic  symbols,  by  which  these  notions  have 
been  recorded.  This  point  will  be  more  fully  illustrated  in  the  two 
chapters  immediately  following  the  present.  Suffice  it  to  say  here, 
that  the  vital  connection  between  the  notion  and  written  symbol  is 
such,  in  a  great  number  of  instances,  as  to  preclude  the  idea  of  their 
separated  development  in  connection  with  the  Babylonian  science. 
Both  the  notion  and  symbol  belonged  originally  to  the  scientific  sys- 
tem under  the  forms  in  which  it  has  been  transmitted  to  us.  For 
illustration  take  the  hieratic  form  of  the  Accadian  U,  "  to  measure, 
a  measure,  a  cubit,"  etc.  This  character  appertained  to  the  metrical 
system  of  Babylon,  and  to  the  method  of  land-divisions,  from  the 
moment  of  its  origin.  It  was  never  borrowed  from  a  different  race, 
and  afterwards  adapted  by  the  Cushites  of  Babylon  to  their  sacred 
science.  The  scientific  conception,  the  written  symbol,  and  the  reg- 
ularly developed  system  in  which  both  are  embodied,  at  the  very 
earliest  period  to  which  the  inscriptions  pertain,  were  the  product 
of  the  same  spiritual  genius.  The  sacred  science  and  the  sacred 
writing  of  Babylon  had  a  common  origin.  One  was  not  Cushite, 


16  HAR-MOAD. 

and  the  other  Turanian  *or  Accadian  ;  both  were  Cushite,  or,  if  not, 
both  were  Accadian. 

SEC.  8.  The  reader  is  now  fully  prepared  to  realize  the  nature 
and  extent  of  the  difficulties  connected  with  the  problem  upon 
which  we  are  engaged.  They  do  not  afford  much  encouragement 
toward  an  attempt,  on  our  own  part,  to  establish  something  definite 
relative  to  the  questions  before  us.  Nevertheless,  it  is  necessary  to 
abandon  here  the  course  of  merely  negative  criticism,  and,  if  pos- 
sible, to  sketch  the  outlines  of  a  theory  that  shall  satisfy  all  the 
conditions  of  this  complicated  subject.  Some  fundamental  position 
ought  to  be  seized  upon  as  a  fixed  point  of  departure ;  and  I  believe 
this  may  be  found  in  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  first  settlement  of 
the  Euphrates  valley  by  emigrants  from  the  East  under  the  leader- 
ship of  the  Cushite  hero  Nimrod.  The  following  passages  from  the 
Biblical  text  embody  the  substance  of  the  narrative  to  which  we 
allude :  — 

"  And  Cush  begat  Nimrod  :  he  began  to  be  a  mighty  one  in  the  earth.  He  was 
a  mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord  :  wherefore  it  is  said,  Even  as  Nimrod  the 
mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord.  And  the  beginning  of  his  kingdom  was  Babel, 
and  Erech,  and  Accad,  and  Calneh,  in  the  land  of  Shinar.  Out  of  that  land 
went  forth  Asshur,  and  builded  Nineveh,  and  the  city  Rehoboth,  and  Calah, 
and  Resen  between  Nineveh  and  Calah  :  the  same  is  a  great  city."  (Gen. 
x.  8-12.) 

"  These  are  the  families  of  the  sons  of  Noah,  after  their  generations,  in  their 
nations  :  and  by  these  were  the  nations  divided  in  the  earth  after  the  flood.  And 
the  whole  earth  was  of  one  language,  and  of  one  speech.  And  it  came  to  pass, 
as  they  journeyed  from  the  east,  that  they  found  a  plain  in  the  land  of  Shinar ; 
and  they  dwelt  there.  And  they  said  one  to  another,  Go  to,  let  us  make  brick, 
and  burn  them  throughly.  And  they  had  brick  for  stone,  and  slime  had  they 
for  morter.  And  they  said,  Go  to,  let  us  build  us  a  city  and  a  tower,  whose  top 
may  reach  unto  heaven  ;  and  let  us  make  us  a  name,  lest  we  be  scattered  abroad 
upon  the  face  of  the  whole  earth.  And  the  Lord  came  down  to  see  the  city  and 
the  tower,  which  the  children  of  men  builded.  And  the  Lord  said,  Behold,  the 
people  is  one,  and  they  have  all  one  language ;  and  this  they  begin  to  do  :  and 
now  nothing  will  be  restrained  from  them,  which  they  have  imagined  to  do.  Go 
to,  let  us  go  down,  and  there  confound  their  language,  that  they  may  not  under- 
stand one  another's  speech.  So  the  Lord  scattered  them  abroad  from  thence 
upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth  :  and  they  left  off  to  build  the  city.  Therefore  is 
the  name  of  it  called  Babel ;  because  the  Lord  did  there  confound  the  language 
of  all  the  earth :  and  from  thence  did  the  Lord  scatter  them  abroad  upon  the  face 
of  all  the  earth."  (Gen.  x.  32-xi.  1-9.) 

The  precise  character  of  the  genealogy  contained  in  the  tenth 
chapter  is  sufficiently  indicated  in  the  last  two  verses.  It  is  not 
exclusively  a  genealogy  in  the  ordinary  and  modern  sense,  nor  is  it, 
on  the  other  hand,  entirely  geographical,  as  some  exegetes  have 
held.  It  was  uniformly  the  practice  in  high  antiquity  for  a  political 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  17 

community  to  trace  its  descent  from  one  ancestral  head,  just  as  the 
Jewish  nation  was  regarded  as  wholly  descended  from  Abraham. 
The  Mosaic  genealogy,  then,  as  here  referred  to,  embodies  the  double 
conception  :  1st.  Of  a  literal  descent  from  a  common  ancestry  ;  2d. 
Of  distinct  nationalities  proceeding  therefrom,  located  geographi- 
cally in  different  quarters  of  the  world.  These  two  ideas  are  de- 
finitely embodied  in  the  expression:  "After  their  generations,  in 
their  nations"  (x.  32).  It  would  be  decidedly  erroneous,  I  think, 
to  interpret  the  text  .as  revealing  simply  a  system  of  colonizations 
from  one  nation  and  geographical  locality  to  another.  Hence,  in 
tracing  a  descent  of  Cush  from  Ham,  and  of  Nimrod  from  Gush, 
Moses  does  not  mean  that  Cush  and  Nimrod  proceeded  from  the 
land  of  Ham,  that  is  to  say,  from  Egypt.  Yet  this  appears  to  be 
Rev.  Mr.  Rawlinson's  view  of  the  matter,  when  he  derives  the 
Cushites  of  Babylon  from  East  Africa.1 

The  Mosaic  narrative,  as  contained  in  the  eleventh  chapter 
(ver.  2-9)  was  intended  obviously  to  describe  the  very  first  settle- 
ments in  the  land  of  Shinar,  after  the  deluge,  and  not  simply  a 
conquest  of  peoples  previously  inhabiting  the  country.  The  city 
of  Babylon  was  not  in  existence  prior  to  this  emigration.  The 
original  founding  of  Babylon,  therefore,  and  of  the  cities  surround- 
ing it,  must  be  attributed  to  these  colonists,  journeying  from  a  region 
eastward  to  the  land  of  Shinar.  These  emigrants  must  thus  be 
regarded  as  actually  the  founders  of  the  Babylonian  kingdom  and 
civilization.  The  question  arises,  then,  Who  were  these  colonists 
from  the  east  ?  Were  they  principally  Cushites  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Nimrod,  or  some  other  people  of  whom  we  have  no  definite 
knowledge  ?  It  is  obvious  that  the  sacred  writer,  in  the  tenth  chap- 
ter (ver.  10-12),  intends  to  attribute  the  foundation  of  the  Babylo- 
nian kingdom  in  the  region  called  Shinar  to  Nimrod  ;  and,  at  a  sub- 
sequent period,  the  founding  of  the  Assyrian  kingdom  in  a  country 
outside  of  and  to  the  north  of  Shinar,  to  Asshur.  Thus,  we  must 
identify  the  first  settlement  of  Babylon  and  building  of  the  tower 
with  the  beginning  of  Nimrod's  kingdom  consisting  of  Babel,  Erech, 
Accad,  and  Calneh.  It  would  be  very  difficult  to  establish  a  begin- 
ning for  the  Nimrodic  empire  at  a  period  before  or  after  the  build- 
ing of  the  tower ;  for  universal  tradition  and  the  opinions  generally 
of  critics  tend  equally  to  place  these  events  in  close  connection  with 

1  Vid.  Five  MonarcJiies,  i.  p.  54. 


18 


HAR-MOAD. 


each  other,  although  they  are  narrated  in  different  chapters  of  the 
sacred  text.  So  far,  then,  as  concerns  the  Mosaic  record,  it  is  plain 
that  we  ought  to  attribute  the  origin  of  the  civilization  of  Babylon 
to  a  people  who  had  migrated  from  the  east  under  the  leadership 
of  Nimrod,  the  Cushite. 

SEC.  9.  According  to  the  views  of  Rev.  G.  Rawlinson,  as  already 
exposed,  the  Cushites  originally  settled  upon  the  banks  of  the  Eu- 
phrates hud  migrated  through  Arabia  from  East  Africa,  a  region  to 
the  west  or  southwest  instead  of  east  in  relation  to  Babylonia. 
We  have  objected  to  this  opinion  :  1st.  That  the  Cushite  settlement 
in  Africa  was  no  more  ancient,  probably,  than  that  in  the  Euphra- 
tes valley  ;  2d.  That  this  scheme  is  directly  opposed  by  the  earliest 
traditionary  notices  relative  to  Southern  Arabia ;  8d.  That  the 
Mosaic  text  connects  the  original  settlement  of  the  land  of  Shi- 
nar  with  a  popular  emigration,  under  the  conduct  of  Nimrod,  from 
a  country  situated  in  the  east  in  relation  to  Babylon.  Now,  are 
there  any  evidences  proving  the  existence  of  a  primitive  Cushite 
population,  more  or  less  advanced  in  civilization,  inhabiting  a  coun- 
try far  to  the  east  as  regards  the  Euphrates  valley  ?  If  a  people 
thus  described  and  located  were  known,  and  could  be  referred  to  a 
very  high  antiquity,  such  a  fact  would  tend  to  explain  and  confirm 
the  Mosaic  account  of  the  first  settlement  of  Shinar  by  a  Cushite 
emigration  from  the  east,  sufficiently  advanced  in  architectural  ideas 
to  undertake  the  building  of  an  immense  tower.  The  following 
notices  from  M.  F.  Lenormant  will  furnish  us  the  desired  informa- 
tion :  — 

"The  Bible,  in  the  recital  relative  to  Eden,  which  has  been  pre- 
served by  Moses  under  a  traditional  form  exceedingly  ancient,  and 
certainly  anterior  to  Abraham,  places  a  country  of  Cush  upon  the 
borders  of  Gihon,  or  the  Oxus,  and  a  country  Havilah  or  Khavila, 
a  name  which  is  that  of  one  of  the  sons  of  Cush,  upon  the  Pison, 
that  is  to  say,  the  upper  course  of  the  Indus.  Thus,  we  are  shown 
here  a  Cushite  people  inhabiting  the  two  slopes  of  the  Indian  Cau- 
casus, long  before  the  Aryan  development,  and  from  whom  has  been 
derived  the  name  of  the  Hindu-Cush.  Herodotus,  who  reports  the 
traditions  which  he  had  collected  at  Babylon,  characterizes  distinct- 
ively the  inhabitants  of  Gedrosia  as  Cushites,  directly  related  to  the 
dark  tribes  of  the  Indus,  since  he  qualifies  them  as  Ethiopians.  The 
Baron  D'Eckstein  has  proved  that  the  Aryans  of  India  originally 
designated  this  race  by  the  term  Sudras,  whom  they  had  supplanted 
in  their  rich  domains  included  in  the  region  called  by  the  generic 


CUSHITE  ARCHEOLOGY.  19 

name  of  Kausikas,  preserved  at  a  later  period  in  certain  sacerdotal 
families,  deriving  their  origin  from  the  people  occupying  the  coun- 
try before  the  Aryans,  and  who  were  admitted  by  the  latter  to  their 
own  rank.  This  term  Kausikas  is  manifestly  one  with  Kush 
(Gush)."  l 

In  a  word,  the  author  shows  from  his  own  researches,  following 
those  of  Dr.  Lassen  and  the  Baron  D'Eckstein,  that  a  Cushite  pop- 

1  Manuel  Hist.  Anc.  Orient.,  iii.  pp.  417,  418,  etc. 

Dr.  J.  Grill  (Die  Erzvctier  der  Menscltheit,  etc.,  i.  pp.  250-279)  has  developed 
quite  recently  a  similar  order  of  facts,  derived  from  Hindu  sources,  to  those 
upon  which  M.  Lenormant  bases  his  opinions.  They  tend  to  confirm  the  hy- 
pothesis of  an  extremely  ancient  Cushite  civilization  in  the  region  to  the  north- 
west of  India.  Dr.  Grill  is,  however,  as  it  appears  to  me,  wholly  unauthorized 
to  consider  these  Cu.shites  either  as  Aryans  or  as  ancestors  of  the  Hebrews.  If 
the  Hebrew  Scriptures  have  in  any  way  been  indebted  to  Cushite  traditions,  it 
was  mediately  through  the  Babylonian  civilization  ;  not  in  any  sense  directly  from 
the  Cushites  of  India.  The  author's  theory,  that  the  Mosaic  account  of  Eden  is 
of  Aryan  origin,  really  derives  no  support  from  the  fact  of  this  Cushite  civiliza- 
tion of  India  ;  for  the  latter  evidently  preceded  the  Aryan  development,  and 
especially  the  entrance  of  the  Aryans  into  India.  The  Hindus,  as  stated  in 
the  text,  were  greatly  indebted  to  the  Cushites,  who  were  far  more  advanced. 
Another  German  author,  Ilr.  Ernst  von  Bunsen,  adopts  the  theory  of  a  Cushite 
civilization  in  the  region  of  the  upper  Indus  at  an  early  period  (Biblische  Gleich- 
zeiligketien  oder  Uebereinttimmende  Zeitreclmung  bei  Babylontern,  Assyrern,  Aegyp- 
tern,  und  Hcbrdern.  Berlin,  1875,  pp.  53,  54). 

At  the  last  session  of  the  International  Congress  of  Orientalists  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, in  September,  1876,  Dr.  Schmidt  of  Gevelsberg  exhibited  the  first  pages 
of  a  work,  in  which  some  entirely  new  views  are  presented  on  the  subject  of  the 
origin  of  the  Hamite  civilization,  especially  the  Egyptian.  In  substance,  his 
opinions  are  the  following  :  — 

"  Leaving  aside  the  relation  of  the  Chinese  to  the  ancient  Egyptians,  since  I 
have  not  the  materials  necessary  to  this  subject,  I  have  put  forth  the  opinion  in 
my  work,  that  the  Egyptians  are  the  most  ancient  people  among  tho«e  whom  I 
call  the  Anueno-Caucasians.  Their  civilization  had  its  birth  in  Mesopotamia. 
From  there,  their  civilization  traversed  the  Persian  Gulf,  Arabia,  and  Ethiopia; 
and  passed  from  thence  to  the  valley  of  the  Kile.  After  the  expulsion  of  the 
dynasty  of  the  Medo-Iranians,  of  Sha-suor  Sakes,  the  Egyptian  kings  carried 
their  civilization  into  Syria  and  Assyria.  It  was  to  the  powerful  impulsion  of 
this  civilization  that  Semitic  Assyrians  owed  the  development  of  their  civiliza- 
tion."—  Bulletin  du  Cotigres  International  des  Orientaiistes,  etc.  p.  89. 

Such  views,  put  forth  before  such  an  august  body,  are  entitled  to  great  respect. 
Yet  it  is  difficult  to  perceive  by  what  process  the  author  could  fully  sustain  them. 
I  cite  them  here  to  show  the  improbability  of  the  first  origin  of  Babylonian  civil- 
ization from  Afiica.  Certainly,  as  it  seems  to  me,  the  people  who  built  the  brick 
pyramid  in  stages  at  Sakkara,  in  Egypt,  must  have  emigrated  from  the  Euphra- 
tes, rather  than  those  who  built  the  pyramid  of  Borsippa,  from  the  Nile  valley. 


20  HAR-MOAD. 

ulation  occupied  the  region  of  the  Hindu  Caucasus,  long  before  the 
Aryan  developments ;  that  they  had  occupied  India  before  the  Ar- 
yans entered  this  country,  extending  themselves  along  the  banks  of 
the  Indus  to  its  mouth,  and  thence  upon  the  shores  of  the  Indian 
Ocean  westward  to  the  Persian  Gulf  and  mouth  of  the  Euphrates. 
When  the  Aryans  entered  India  the  Cushites  settled  there  were 
well  advanced  in  civilization,  and  became  literally  the  teachers  of 
their  ruder  conquerors.  The  facts  here  brought  to  light  accord  pre- 
cisely with  the  Mosaic  accounts,  as  we  have  construed  the  narrative 
relative  to  the  first  settlement  of  Babylon  by  a  colony  from  the 
east,  under  the  leadership  of  the  Cushite  hero  Nimrod.  The  abso- 
lutely primitive  Gush  or  Ethiopia,  as  thus  appears,  was  located 
around  the  waters  of  the  upper  Indus,  and  it  was  from  thence  that 
the  emigration  took  place  to  the  land  of  Shinar.  By  what  route 
the  Nimrodic  expedition  to  Babylonia  proceeded,  whether  along  the 
shores  of  the  Indian  Ocean  and  thence  up  the  Euphrates,  or  by  a 
more  direct  and  northern  course,  it  is  impossible  to  decide. 

The  theory  which  derives  the  Cushites  of  Babylon  from  the  east, 
according  to  our  interpretation  of  the  language  of  Moses,  finds  defi- 
nite support  in  the  primitive  traditions  of  the  country  of  the  Eu- 
phrates, as  shown  by  the  cuneiform  inscriptions.  Thus,  we  have 
the  frequent  expression  Kharsak-Kurra,  for  the  Accadian,  or  "  Bit- 
Kharris  of  the  east,"  for  the  Assyrian,  designating  the  supposed 
primitive  abode  of  man,  and  the  seat  of  a  civilization  prior  even  to 
that  of  Babylon.  A  slightly  different  phrase  is  "  Bit-Kharris  of  the 
east,  the  father  of  countries,"  in  which  we  recognize  the  sacred 
locality  from  which,  according  to  tradition,  the  civilizers  of  Baby- 
lon had  departed  on  their  westward  journey.  Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce 
explains  the  phrase  Kharsak-Kurra  by  "  mountain  of  the  world,"  and 
is  inclined  to  locate  it  in  the  "  Highlands  of  Elam,"  the  modern 
Susiana ;  but  this  geographical  scheme  for  the  great  Asiatic  Olym- 
pus is  essentially  erroneous,  as  will  be  shown  in  a  future  chapter. 
The  region  designated  is  the  high  table-land  of  Central  Asia. 1 

1 1  see  that  Dr.  Schrader,  in  a  critical  paper  upon  the  "  Origin  of  the  Chal- 
deans, and  the  Primitive  Home  of  the  Semites,"  inclines  to  derive  the  first  Cushite 
settlers  of  Babylon  under  Nimrod  from  Southern  Arabia,  thus  favoring  substan- 
tially Rev.  G.  Rawlinson's  views  (Zeilsclirift  d.  Deutsch.  Morgend.  Gesellschaft, 
Leip.,  1873,  pp.  419-422).  But  the  primitive  Babylonian  tradition  which  em- 
bodies itself  in  the  phrase,  "  Bit-Kharris  of  the  east,  the  father  of  countries," 
cannot  be  construed  with  reference  to  Southern  Arabia.  We  have,  1st.  The  fact 


CUSHITE  ARCHEOLOGY.  21 

SEC.  10.  We  return  now  to  the  tower  of  Babel,  and  the  tra- 
ditions centring  in  and  around  it.  It  is  supposed  by  most  cunei- 
form scholars  to  be  identical  with  the  ruins  of  the  pyramidal  tem- 
ple of  Borsippa,  whose  modern  name  is  Sirs  Nimrod,  "  mound  or 
tower  of  Nimrod,"  from  which  Sir  H.  Rawlinson  obtained  formerly 
some  inscribed  cylinders,  giving  an  account  of  the  restoration  of  the 
structure  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  after  it  had  remained  for  a  long  pe- 
riod in  a  state  of  decay.  The  subjoined  passage  from  one  of  these 
inscriptions,  as  translated  by  M.  Lenormant,  is  quite  important : 

"  The  temple  of  the  seven  lights  of  the  earth,  the  monument  of 
the  traditions  of  Borsippa,  had  been  constructed  by  the  most  ancient 
king  ;  he  had  given  it  an  area  (at  the  base)  of  42  agrarian  meas- 
ures ;  but  he  had  not  completed  it  to  the  top.  Since  the  days  of 
the  deluge  (ultu  yum  rikui),  it  had  been  abandoned  without  repair- 
ing its  water  courses  ;  thus  the  rains  and  tempests  had  destroyed 
the  construction  in  crude  brick,  and  the  facings  in  burnt  brick  were 
cracked,  so  that  the  mass  of  crude  brick  had  crumbled  into  the  shape 
of  cones."  1 

There  have  been  many  versions,  by  different  Assyriologues,  of 
this  particular  passage  in  the  text  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  majority 
of  them  being  substantially  alike  except  as  regards  the  phrase, 
"  since  the  days  of  the  deluge,"  which  Sir  H.  Rawlinson  and  other 
English  scholars  render  "  since  the  days  remote,"  without  any  spe- 
cial reference  to  the  deluge.  The  whole  question  depends  upon  the 
true  reading  of  the  cuneiform  text  in  this  place.  If  the  reading  is 
ultu  yum  rikut,  as  maintained  by  M.  Lenormant,  then  his  transla- 
tion as  given  above  is  correct.  But  Sir  H.  Rawlinson's  reading  of 
the  original  here  is  ultu  yumi  ruquti,  which  is  an  ordinary  expres- 
sion employed  in  the  inscriptions  for  "days  remote,"  or  "ancient 
times,"  without  reference  to  any  particular  event  such  as  the  deluge. 
Certain  circumstances  strongly  favor  M.  Lenormant's  proposed 
reading,  which  had  been  adopted  long  before  by  Dr.  Oppert.  1st. 
The  pyramidal  temple  at  Borsippa,  and  the  one  at  Babylon  were 
traditionally  regarded  as  absolutely  primitive  structures  in  the  val- 
ley of  the  Euphrates,  being  the  original  types  of  all  others.  2d. 

of  a  very  early  Cushite  civilization  in  the  region  of  the  upper  Indus.     2d.  The 
Mosaic  account  of  the  migration  "  from  the  East."     3d.  The  Babylonian  tradition 
pointing  directly  to  the  east.      These  facts  perfectly  harmonize  with  and  confirm 
each  other.     It  is  very  difficult  to  resist  the  conclusion  dictated  by  them. 
1  Vid.  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  352. 


22  HAR-MOAD. 

Cuneiform  scholars  are  for  the  most  part  agreed  that  the  pyramid 
of  Borsippa  is  to  be  identified  definitely  with  the  tower  of  Babel. 
3d.  Is  a  philological  question  pertaining  to  the  two  terms  rikut  and 
ruquti  ;  M.  Lenormant  contends  that  the  latter  reading  involves  a 
permutation  of  the  sounds  k  and  q,  which  is  contrary  to  prevailing 
usage  in  the  texts.  As  he  has  devoted  a  special  consideration  to 
this  one  point,  it  is  probable  that  his  views  are  correct,  and  as  they 
are  supported  substantially  by  Dr.  Oppert,  I  believe  it  is  safe  to 
adopt  the  rendering,  "  since  the  days  of  the  deluge ; "  involving 
thus  a  direct  allusion  to  the  traditionary  events  recorded  by  Moses. 
The  name  Borsippa  is  often  written  in  the  texts  with  the  characters 
Bora-sip-ki,  which  M.  Lenormant  interprets  as  a  mystical  title  having 
the  sense  of  "  city  of  the  confusion  of  tongues,"  or  of  "  the  stutter- 
ing of  words."  *  It  is  somewhat  doubtful,  I  think,  whether  this 
interpretation  is  legitimate,  but  as  I  have  not  seen  it  called  in  ques- 
tion, it  may  be  provisionally  adopted.  An  ancient  and  mystical 
name  of  Babylon  is  written  with  the  signs  Din-tir-ki,  which  M. 
Lenormant  renders  "  city  of  the  root  of  languages."  2  This  inter- 
pretation is  sustained  by  the  ordinary  meaning  attached  to  the 
characters,  and  it  points  to  the  tradition  of  the  original  unity  of 
language.  The  more  frequent  mode  of  writing  the  name  of  Baby- 
lon in  the  inscriptions  is  with  the  Accadian  characters  Kd-An-ra-ki, 
literally,  "  the  gate  of  the  god  of  the  deluge ;  "  but  its  Semitic 
reading  would  be  Bab-ilu,  "  gate  of  Ilu,"  or  El,  supreme  divinity 
of  Babylon.  This  is  the  origin  of  the  name  Babel,  as  employed  by 
Moses.  It  has  been  supposed  by  some  that  Borsippa  was  included 
anciently  within  the  walls  of  Babylon. 

The  facts  placed  here  before  the  reader  will  be  seen  to  confirm  lit- 
erally the  Mosaic  account,  considered  as  a  faithful  echo  of  primitive 
tradition  respecting:  1st.  The  original  unity  of  language;  2d.  The 
building  of  the  tower  of  Babel  and  the  confusion  of  tongues ;  3d. 
The  connection  of  this  event  with  Nimrod,  as  indicated  in  the  mod- 
ern name,  Birs  Nimrod.  All  this  goes  to  establish  the  hypothesis 
that  the  colonists  from  the  east,  from  the  primitive  Ethiopia  near 
the  headwaters  of  the  Indus,  under  the  conduct  of  Nimrod,  were 
actually  the  founders  of  the  Babylonian  civilization.  Our  interpre- 
tation of  the  Mosaic  text  to  the  effect  that  this  emigration  was  really 
from  the  east,  is  confirmed  by  the  expressions  already  referred  to, 

1  Vid.  Frag,  de  Be'rose,  p.  349.  2  Ibid. 


CUSHITE  ARCHEOLOGY.  23 

as  often  found  in  the  inscriptions,  relating  to  the  "  Bit-kharris  of 
the  east,  the  father  of  countries,"  etc. 

One  other  fact  deserves  to  be  noted  in  connection  with  the  py- 
ramidal temples  of  Borsippa  and  Babylon,  which,  as  we  have  said, 
were  regarded  as  the  primitive  and  typical  structures  of  this  class 
in  the  country  of  the  Euphrates.  These  edifices  were  built  of  brick, 
and  in  stages  retreating  one  upon  the  other.  It  is  remarkable  that 
what  is  now  regarded  by  Egyptologists  as  the  most  ancient  py- 
ramidal structure  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile  is  that  of  Sakkara,  the 
primitive  site  of  Memphis,  which  is  constructed  also  in  stages  and 
of  brick,  according  to  the  express  statement  of  M.  Lenormant.1 
Mr.  Birch,  of  the  British  Museum,  in  a  recent  work  published  by 
him,  conveys  a  different  impression  as  to  the  materials  employed; 
for  he  says  :  "  It  was  constructed  of  calcareous  stone  and  granite,  and 
had  seven  steps  like  the  Babylonian  towers."  2  In  relation  to  the 
seven  stages,  like  the  pyramid  of  Borsippa,  it  is  probable  that  Mr. 
Birch  is  correct,  but  I  think  he  is  in  error  as  to  the  material  em- 
ployed. M.  Lenonnant's  statement  is  explicit  and  repeated,  to  the 
effect  that  the  great  pyramid  of  Sakkara  was  constructed  of  brick. 
This  is  confirmed  by  the  following  observation  of  Mr.  Bayard  Tay- 
lor: "As  we  passed  the  brick  pyramid  of  Sakkara,"  etc.3  Other 
pyramids  in  stages,  much  smaller,  located  in  the  same  region,  are 
built  of  stone ;  and  it  is  probable  that  the  error  into  which  Mr. 
Birch  appears  to  have  fallen  is  due  to  this  fact.  As  regards  the 
primitive  character  of  the  edifice  to  which  we  refer,  the  opinion  of 
M.  Lenormant,  as  just  cited,  is  confirmed  by  the  remarks  of  Aug. 
Mariette-Bey :  "  At  the  Great  Pyramids,  we  find  nothing  anterior 
to  Cheops."  "  Sakkara,  on  the  contrary,  exhibits  monuments  at 
each  step  that  embrace  all  the  long  period  comprised  between  the 
first  dynasty  and  the  emperors."  "  It  is,  in  effect,  upon  the  northern 
plateau  of  Sakkara  that  are  seen  the  most  ancient  monuments  of 
Egypt."  4  From  the  foregoing  notices,  then,  it  is  safe  to  infer:  1st. 
That  the  great  pyramid  of  Sakkara  was  constructed  in  stages,  and 
of  brick;  2d.  That  it  was  absolutely  the  primitive  pyramidal  struc- 
ture in  the  Nile  valley ;  3d.  That  it  was  strictly  analogous  in  its 

*  Ibid.,  p.  363. 

2  Ancient  History  from  the  Monuments,  Egypt,  p.  25. 

8  Journey  to  Central  Africa,  p.  69. 

4  Musee  A  Boulaq,  etc.,  p.  287.  Cf.  Apercu  de  Vhistoire  ancienne  d'Egypte,  p.  76. 


24  HAR-MOAD. 

character  to  the  pyramids  of  Babylon  and  Borsippa,  these  being  the 
most  ancient  in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates. 

SEC.  11.  In  the  facts  brought  to  light  in  the  last  section,  we  have 
the  basis  of  some  important  conclusions,  to  which  we  invite  particu- 
lar attention  :  — 

1st.  The  pyramids  of  Borsippa,  Babylon,  and  Sakkara  in  Egypt, 
belong  to  the  same  chronological  epoch ;  and  M.  Renan  is  correct 
in  the  opinion  already  expressed,  that  the  two  civilizations  of  the 
Nile  and  Euphrates  were  "  equal  in  antiquity."  But  this  epoch, 
which  is,  so  to  speak,  historical  as  pertains  to  Egypt,  had  become 
purely  legendary  at  Babylon,  for  the  reason  that  the  primitive 
monuments  maintained  no  such  state  of  preservation,  as  in  the  val- 
ley of  the  Nile.  The  pyramid  of  Sakkara  is  wholly  exceptional  in 
its  character,  so  far  as  concerns  Egypt.  Nothing  of  the  kind  ap- 
pears either  before  or  after  it  in  the  country.  It  marks,  thus,  a  dis- 
tinct epoch,  and  this  the  primitive  one.  It  shows  that  when  the 
Hamites  entered  Egypt,  they  carried  with  them  the  same  tradi- 
tionary notions  as  those  which  prevailed  originally  at  Babylon ; 
although  shortly  after,  these  ideas  took  on  a  different  material 
expression.  Now,  if  we  assume  that  the  pyramidal  temples  of 
Babylon  appertained  to  a  period  much  later,  it  will  be  very  difficult 
to  account  for  the  origin  of  the  conceptions  embodied  in  them.  If 
the  Babylonians  had  derived  their  notions  from  the  Nile  valley  at  a 
later  epoch,  they  would  have  been  different,  since  in  this  country 
the  style  of  such  structures  had  been  essentially  modified.  If 
we  would  derive  these  architectural  ideas  from  the  far  East,  from 
Central  Asia,  very  much  depends  upon  the  date  assumed.  It  is 
probable  that  the  pyramidal  temple  was  absolutely  primitive  in  all 
Asia,  but  at  a  very  early  period  it  had  assumed  the  style  of  the 
pagoda  in  Central  and  in  Farther  Asia.  Thus,  everything  forcibly 
tends  to  fix  a  high  antiquity  for  the  pyramids  of  Babylon  and  Bor- 
sippa, equal  even  to  that  of  the  brick  structure  of  Sakkara  in  Egypt. 
That  an  original  type  of  these  pyramids  in  stages,  built  up  in  the 
mass,  did  exist  in  Eastern  Asia  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that, 
in  Central  America,  we  have  the  same  primitive  style  of  sacred 
edifices,  evidently  of  Asiatic  origin.  But  everything  forces  us  to 
assume  an  immensely  remote  period,  if  we  say  that  the  temples  of 
Babylon  were  derived  either  from  Africa  or  Central  Asia.  The 
only  easy  and  natural  inference  is,  that  the  Hamites  settled  Egypt 


CUSHITE   ARCHEOLOGY.  25 

and  the  Cushites  Babylon,  at  about  the  same  epoch,  both  having 
emigrated  from  Central  Asia,  and  carrying  with  them  the  same 
architectural  notions.  This  supposition  fully  accords  with  the  Mo- 
saic narrative,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  frame  a  different  scheme 
that  would  thus  accord,  and  at  the  same  time  harmonize  with  all 
the  essential  facts. 

2d.  The  founders  of  the  civilization  of  the  Euphrates  and  of  the 
Nile  were  equally  members  of  the  great  Hamite  race.  As  M. 
Renan  has  said,  they  were  "  equal  in  antiquity,  closely  resem- 
bling each  other,  and,  with  all,  anterior  to  the  entrance  of  the  Ar- 
yans and  Semites  into  history."  There  is  here  absolutely  no  ques- 
tion as  to  the  Aryans  and  Semites ;  so  that  the  problem  is  narrowed 
down  to  that  between  the  Hamites  and  Turanians ;  or,  as  regards 
the  country  of  the  Euphrates,  between  the  Cushites  and  Accadians. 
The  subjoined  extracts  from  a  recent  work  by  M.  Lenormant  ought 
in  such  case  to  settle  the  question  :  — 

"  It  is  a  very  striking  fact,  and  one  already  noticed  by  many 
scholars,  that  at  the  base  of  all  the  pyramidal  temples  of  Chaldcea 
strictly  speaking,  at  Ur,  at  Erech,  Nipur,  and  Larsam,  we  find  uni- 
formly the  name  of  the  same  king  inscribed  upon  the  bricks,  which 
I  would  read  Lik-Bagas  (Urukh).  '  In  all  Chaldaea,'  observes  Rev. 
G.  Rawlinson,  4so  far  as  the  explorations  have  been  at  present  ex- 
tended, we  find  no  trace  of  a  sacred  monument  that  can  be  assigned 
reasonably  to  a  date  anterior  to  this  monarch.'  His  inscriptions  are 
the  earliest  of  any  at  present  known ;  yet  he  belongs  fully  to  the 
historical  period,  and  it  cannot  be  said  that  he  opens  an  era,  like 
that  of  Menes  in  Egypt.  The  temples  in  form  of  a  pyramid,  with 
stages  retreating  one  upon  the  other,  were  thus  recent  in  Chaldcea, 
as  compared  with  those  in  the  country  of  Shinar,  or  Sumir,  where 
the  indigenous  traditions,  like  that  of  the  Bible,  associated  the  con- 
fusion of  tongues  with  the  construction  of  the  original  edifice  of  this 
class ;  and  where,  as  in  respect  to  the  pyramids  of  Babylon  and 
B  or  sip  pa,  they  did  not  pretend  to  attribute  them  to  any  king 
belonging  to  the  historical  dynasties,  making  use  rather  of  the 
expression  in  such  cases  of  '  the  king  very  ancient,'  or  '  the  most 
ancient  king.'  But  in  the  country  of  Akkad  (Chaldaea),  instead 
of  being  a  fact  equally  primitive  and  indigenous,  the  construction 
of  edifices  of  this  type  is  in  reality  only  an  imitation  of  the  usages 
of  Babylon  ;  an  imitation  undertaken  and  pursued  in  all  the  cities 
at  the  same  epoch,  and  by  one  and  the  same  monarch,  who,  instead 
of  belonging  to  the  traditionary  period,  appertained  strictly  to  the 


26  HAR-MOAD. 

historical  epoch."  "  Now,  it  is  necessary  to  go  farther,  and  to  dis- 
tinguish Babylon  in  the  primitive  ages  as  Cushite,  from  Chal- 
dsea,  which  remained  for  a  long  period  almost  wholly  Accadian, 
or  Turanian."  1 

In  what  sense,  then,  the  reader  will  now  naturally  inquire,  does 
M.  Lenormant  still  hold  to  the  Accadian  or  Turanian  origin  of  the 
Babylonian  civilization  ?  The  answer  must  be :  Mainly  as  regards 
the  system  of  writing.  Contrary  to  the  statement  as  already  cited 
from  Mr.  George  Smith,  our  French  Assyriologue  maintains  that 
Lik-Bagas  borrowed  from  Babylon,  not  only  its  sacred  architecture, 
but  its  mythology,  its  science,  if  not  also  its  industrial  arts,  institu- 
tions, and  laws.  It  is  the  paleographical  system,  almost  exclusively, 
for  whose  Accadian  or  Turanian  origin  he  still  contends.  Consist- 
ently with  the  foregoing  extracts,  it  is  difficult  to  perceive  how  he 
could  maintain  much,  if  anything,  more  than  this ;  and  it  appears 
to  me  impossible  now  to  sustain  even  such  an  hypothesis.  I  insist 
again  that  the  Cushites  of  Babylon  could  not  have  remained  des- 
titute of  a  paleographic  system  during  the  long  period  prior  to  the 
time  of  Lik-Bagas ;  could  not  have  attained  to  the  advanced  state 
of  development  supposed  by  M.  Lenormant,  without  such  a  system. 
There  exist  to-day  undiscovered  in  Babylonia  inscriptions  apper- 
taining to  a  period  long  before  Lik-Bagas;  inscriptions  in  a  charac- 
ter which  produced  the  cuneiform,  or  in  some  other  yet  unknown ; 
the  primitive  Phoenician,  perhaps,  or  the  Himyaric  of  a  date  ante- 
rior to  any  that  scholars  are  at  present  willing  to  allow.2 

1  La  Magie,  pp.  295,  296,  298. 

2  Sir  H.  C.  Rawlinson  many  years  since  held  the  following  language  relative  to 
the  paleography  of  the  primitive  Babylonians  :  "  The  Babylonian  is  unquestion- 
ably the  most  ancient  of  the  three  great  classes  of  cuneiform  writing.     It  is  well 
known  that  legends  in  this  character  are  stamped  upon  the  bricks  which  are  ex- 
cavated from  the  foundations  of  all  the  buildings  in  Mesopotamia,  Babylonia,  and 
Chaldaea,  that  possess  the  highest  and  most  authentic  claims  to  antiquity,  and  it 
is  hardly  extravagant,  therefore,  to  assign  its   invention  to  the  primitive  race 
which  settled  in  the  plains  of  Shinar."     "  It  is  natural  to  infer  from  the  peculiar 
form  of  cuneiform  writing  that,  in  all  ages  and  in  all  countries,  it  must  have  been 
confined  exclusively  to  sculptures  and  impressions.     In  Babylonia  and  Assyria 
there  was  certainly  a  cursive  character  employed  in  a  very  high  antiquity,  syn- 
chronously with  the  lapidary  cuneiform."     (The  Persian  Cuneiform  Inscription  at 
Rehisteen.     London,  1846.     Pp.  20,  31.) 

M.  E.  Renan  maintained  long  since,  that  no  Semitic  language  ever  existed  in  a 
written  form  that  had  not  an  alphabet  peculiar  to  itself  of  the  general  Phoenician 


CUSHITE  ARCHEOLOGY.  27 

M.  Lenormant,  in  the  foregoing  passages,  has  sketched  with  a 
masterly  hand  the  exact  state  of  the  facts  according  to  the  latest 
developments.  Neither  in  the  tenth  chapter  of  Genesis,  nor  in  the 
Iz-dhu-bar  Tablets,  in  both  which  the  hero-founder  of  the  Babylo- 
nian kingdom  is  so  often  mentioned,  —  since  Iz-dhu-bar  and  Nimrod 
are  held  to  be  the  same,1  —  do  we  have  any  mention  of  the  city  of 
Ur,  the  Biblical  "  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,"  which  was  the  chief  capital 
city  of  Lik-Bagas.  It  is  evident  that  this  city  did  not  exist  at  the 
period  to  which  the  account  of  Genesis  and  the  Iz-dhu-bar  legends 
pertain.  If,  then,  the  inscriptions  of  Lik-Bagas  are  the  earliest  yet 
known,  which  is  true,  and  notwithstanding  he  must  be  assigned  to 
the  twenty-fourth  or  twenty-fifth  century  before  our  era,  it  is  obvi- 
ous that  these  are  not  the  origin  of  writing  in  the  valley  of  the 
Euphrates.  The  hieroglyphic  system  of  writing  is  known  to  date 
from  the  earliest  dynasties  in  Egypt,  and  there  is  much  reason  for  the 
supposition  that  the  Hamites  had  invented  this  system  even  before 
the  time  of  Menes,  the  first  historical  king.  The  near  relationship 
of  the  Cushites  to  the  Hamites  leads  to  the  inference  that  the  Cush- 
ites  likewise  had  possessed  a  similar  s}^stem  at  an  epoch  not  much 
later.  The  explorations  thus  far  have  not  been  by  any  means  so 
thorough  at  Babylon  and  the  surrounding  district  as  at  Nineveh; 
and  it  cannot  be  said  of  Babylonia,  as  of  Chaldsea,  that  its  earliest 
inscribed  monuments  are  already  known. 

SEC.  12.  As  before  remarked,  the  Aryan  and  Semitic  elements 
are  completely  eliminated  from  our  problem,  since  the  Babylonian 

type ;  and  that  such  a  mode  of  writing  must  have  existed  at  Babylon  at  a  very 
early  period  (Histoire  generate,  pp.  70-75).  Thus,  I  have  expressed  the  opinion 
in  the  text  that  either  the  cuneiform  system  of  writing,  or  some  other  allied  to 
the  Phoenician,  was  absolutely  primitive  at  Babylon.  Its  renowned  civilization 
never  grew  up  without  a  paleogrnphic  system  from  the  start.  The  probabilities 
are  that  this  was  the  primitive  cuneiform. 

1  Dr.  J.  Oppert,  at  the  last  session  of  the  International  Congress  of  Oriental- 
ists, took  ground  against  the  identification  of  Iz-dhu-bar  and  Nimrod  ;  nnd  he 
held  that  Nimrod  was  not  the  name  of  a  person,  but  of  a  people  (Bulletin  des 
Congres  des  Orientalistes,  etc.,  p.  124).  I  do  not  think,  myself,  that  there  exist 
sufficient  grounds  for  the  identification  of  these  two  personages.  I  have  merely 
followed  the  opinions  of  Mr.  George  Smith,  in  a  matter  not  at  all  vital  to  my 
subject.  Dr.  Oppert  presented  to  the  Congress  alluded  to  a  new  version  of  the 
Iz-dhu-b;ir  tablets,  in  which  he  differs  somewhat  from  the  views  of  Mr.  Smith, 
and  which,  I  suppose,  will  appear  in  the  regular  publications  of  the  Congress. 


28  HAR-MOAD. 

I 
civilization  obviously  dates  from  a  period  prior  to  the  entrance  of 

the  Aryans  and  Semites  into  history.  So  far  as  relates  to  the  Ac- 
cadians  or  Turanians  of  Chaldaea,  this  element  may  be  also  ex- 
cluded, for  it  cannot  be  traced  to  a  period  earlier  than  Lik-Bagas, 
who  was  really  a  convert  to  the  religion,  and  an  imitator  of  the 
usages,  appertaining  to  the  Cushites  of  Babylon.  The  question 
before  us  now  rests  between  the  Cushites  on  one  hand,  and  a  pos- 
sible Turanian  element  prior  to  the  ancient  Chaldsean  dynasty 
headed  by  Lik-Bagas.  We  know  that  there  was  an  Akkad  in  the 
valley  of  the  Euphrates  long  before  the  earliest  of  the  monarchs  of 
Chaldyea,  as  the  name  occurs  in  the  list  of  cities  constituting  the 
beginning  of  Nimrod's  kingdom.  More  than  this;  it  is  probable 
that  the  Akkad  of  Nimrod's  time  was  not  situated  in  Chaldsea,  but 
in  the  vicinity  of  Babylon  itself.  Mr.  George  Smith  remarks: 
"  The  capital  of  Sargon  (the  ancient)  was  the  great  city  of  Agadi, 
called  by  the  Semites  Akkad,  mentioned  in  Genesis  as  a  capital  of 
Nimrod  (x.  10),  and  here  he  reigned  for  forty-five  years.  Akkad 
lay  near  the  city  of  Sippara  on  the  Euphrates  and  north  of  Baby- 
lon." "  1  have  only  recently  discovered  the  identity  of  Akkad  with 
the  capital  of  Sargon."1  In  a  matter  of  such  importance,  and  one 
upon  which  there  has  been  so  much  doubt  and  discussion,  it  is  to  be 
regretted  that  the  author  offers  no  proof  of  the  foregoing  statement. 
Nevertheless,  one  circumstance  tends  powerfully  to  support  it.  In 
the  symbolical  geography  of  Sargon  the  ancient,  which  appears  to 
be  fundamental  in  the  mythological  and  astrological  texts  attributed 
to  him,  Akkad  is  considered  as  situated  at  the  centre  of  the  world, 
surrounded  by  four  countries  located  exactly  in  the  direction  of  the 
cardinal  points.  Now  we  know  that  Agani,  probably  the  same  as 
Agadi  mentioned  by  Mr.  Smith,  was  the  capital  of  Sargon's  empire. 
It  is  wholly  improbable  that  he  should  take  an  Akkad  in  Chaldaea 
as  centre  of  his  symbolical  system  of  geography,  instead  of  his  own 
city  or  country.  The  Akkad,  therefore,  of  the  texts  of  Sargon  was 
his  own  capital  city,  and  this  was  the  Akkad  also  of  Nimrod's  time. 
Another  consideration  tends  to  support  Mr.  Smith's  hypothesis 
above  stated.  According  to  the  Mosaic  text,  the  Biblical  Akkad 
was  situated  within  the  limits  of  Shinar.  Now  Shinar  must  be 
distinguished  from  Assyria,  on  one  hand,  since  Asshur  went  forth 
from  Shinar  to  found  the  Assyrian  kingdom ;  and  it  is  probable,  on 
1  Assyrian  Discoveries,  p.  225,  and  note. 


CUSHITE   ARCHEOLOGY.  29 

the  other  hand,  that  Shinar  should  be  distinguished  from  Chaldaea. 
This  tends  definitely  to  fix  the  locality  of  the  original  Akkad  in  the 
vicinity  of  Babylon,  outside  of  either  Chaldaea  or  Assyria.  The 
facts  here  brought  out,  if  one  considers  a  moment  their  bearings, 
completely  overthrow  the  Turanian  hypothesis  as  regards  the  origin 
of  the  Babylonian  civilization,  if  we  are  to  identify  the  supposed 
Turanians  with  the  Akkadi,  or  Accadians.  Attribute,  if  you  please, 
this  civilization  to  Akkad,  yet  the  Akkad  of  Nimrod's  era  was  in- 
cluded in  his  kingdom  ;  the  Cushites  under  Nimrod  were  the  ruling 
class ;  and  it  was  to  the  ruling  class,  in  such  cases,  that  the  entire 
culture,  as  well  as  civil  and  religious  functions  appertained.  This 
remark  applies  as  well  to  the  paleographic  system.  Trace  its  origin 
to  the  Akkadi,  yet  the  ruling  class  among  the  Akkadi  of  primitive 
times  were  Cushites,  and  they  must  have  been  the  inventors  of  the 
system.  It  is  probable,  in  fact,  that  these  primitive  Accadians  were 
themselves  Cushites.  For  myself,  I  am  unable  to  perceive  how  it 
is  possible  to  avoid  the  conclusions  here  deduced.  Nor  do  these  rest 
wholly  on  Mr.  Smith's  proposed  identification  of  Akkad  with  the 
capital  city  of  the  ancient  Sargon.  We  might  have  said  long  ago: 
Yes,  the  Accadians  were  the  inventors  of  the  cuneiform  writing  and 
the  civilizers  of  Babylon ;  but  the  Cushites  were  the  ruling  element 
of  population  among  the  primitive  Accadians  of  the  Euphrates  val- 
ley, and  to  this  preponderating  element  is  due  the  invention  and 
civilizing  process,  even  if  the  Accadians  themselves  were  not  Cush- 
ites. But  the  discovery  made  by  Mr.  Smith,  and  the  other  con- 
siderations urged  by  myself,  render  the  basis  of  these  conclusions 
much  more  solid  and  reliable.  The  Turanian  hypothesis,  then, 
must  be  abandoned,  or  it  must  be  divorced  from  the  population 
termed  Akkadi  in  the  cuneiform  texts ;  and  this  is  precisely  that 
which  Dr.  Oppert  believes  to  have  been  done  already ;  that  is  to 
say,  he  claims  that  the  Akkadi  were  properly  Semites,  while  the 
Sumeri  were  the  Turanians  of  Babylon,  the  founders  of  its  civiliza- 
tion, and  the  inventors  of  its  paleographical  system. 

SEC.  13.  We  have  not  been  willing,  in  these  researches,  to 
enter  upon  the  question  raised  by  Dr.  Oppert,  which  has  remained 
principally  up  to  the  present  time  as  between  himself  and  M.  Lenor- 
mant.  Outside  of  France,  very  few,  if  any,  Assyriologues  have 
adopted  the  doctor's  theory,  although  it  has  been  supported  on  his 
part  with  great  ability.  As  regards  the  Sumeri,  it  is  not  easy  to  fix 


30  HAR-MOAD. 

any  special  locality  for  them  from  the  texts,  nor  to  assign  to  the 
any  definite  chronology.  The  terms  Sumir  and  Sumeri  seem  to  ap- 
pertain, at  least  under  their  present  form,  rather  to  the  historical 
than  the  legendary  period.  They  do  not  occur  in  the  Mosaic  text, 
nor  in  the  u  Izdhubar  Tablets."  Nevertheless,  under  a  different 
form,  it  is  possible  that  Sumir  was  really  very  primitive.  M.  Lenor- 
mant  supposes  that  Sumir  and  the  Biblical  Shinar  were  originally 
the  same ;  and  I  believe  that  Dr.  Oppert  formerly  favored  this  as- 
similation, being,  in  fact,  the  first  to  suggest  it.  In  such  case,  we 
find  here  no  objection  to  the  Cushite  hypothesis  assumed  by  us, 
since,  according  to  all  known  facts,  the  Cushites  were  the  original 
ruling  class  in  the  land  of  Shinar.  Again :  a  very  ancient  title 
assumed  by  the  monarchs  especially  of  Chaldsea  was  the  Accadian 
Uugal  ki  Engi  ki  Akkad,  which  Dr.  Oppert  and  Mr.  Smith  render 
"king  of  Sumir  and  Akkad"  M.  Lenormant  maintains  that  ki 
engi  means  simply  "  a  country,"  and  translates  the  phrase  "  king  of 
the  country  of  Akkad."  It  is  probable,  however,  that  Engi  is  the 
name  of  a  particular  country,  for  it  is  preceded  by  the  determina- 
tive ki  in  the  same  manner  as  Akkad.  Now  the  word  Akkad  is  sup- 
posed to  signify  "  highland,"  and  Engi  is  interpreted  by  Dr.  Oppert 
as  "  true-lord."  The  inquiry,  then,  is  quite  pertinent:  What  per- 
sonage, as  u  true-lord,"  has  furnished  thus  the  name  of  the  country 
called  Engi?  We  cannot  long  hesitate  in  saying  that  it  must  have 
been  Nimiod,  primitive  ruler  of  Shinar;  and  the  proposed  assimila- 
tion of  this  Biblical  name  to  Sumir  on^ygoes  to  confirm  the  sugges- 
tion here  made.  Thus,  I  believe  it  is  unnecessary  to  devote  much 
space  here  to  show  that  the  word  Sumir  affords  no  serious  objection 
to  the  Cushite  theory,  to  establish  which  has  been  the  leading  aim 
of  the  present  chapter.  That  this  hypothesis  is  wholly  free  from 
doubt  and  difficulty  is  not  pretended ;  but  it  appears  to  me  to  offer 
the  most  plausible  explanation  of  all  the  facts ;  and  it  is  in  perfect 
accord  with  the  Mosaic  narrative,  of  which  also  it  affords  through- 
out a  striking  confirmation.1 

1  In  the  Journal  Asiatique  for  March- April,  1876,  M.  Halevy  returns  to  the 
question  of  the  origin  of  the  cuneiform  system  of  writing,  and  in  a  paper  occupy- 
ing nearly  two  hundred  pages,  attempts  to  show  that  its  originators  were  Semites, 
that  is  to  say,  the  Assyrians.  In  other  respects,  the  paper  is  very  valuable  ;  but 
it  will  hardly  convince  Assyriologues  that  the  Semites  were  the  authors  of  this 
paleographical  system.  They  will  share  rather  the  views  of  M.  Renan,  in  his  very 
last  annual  report,  published  in  the  Journal  of  July,  1876,  now  just  at  hand, 
namely,  that  it  is  "  little  satisfactory  "  (vid.  p.  42). 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  DIVINITY  OF  THE  HEARTH. 

SEC.  14.  That  the  original  character  of  the  systems  of  writing 
prevailing  among  the  ancients  was  hieroglyphic,  not  excepting  that 
from  which  our  own  alphabet  was  derived,  is  the  hypothesis  now 
generally  and  tacitly  received  among  the  learned ;  and  according  to 
the  opinion  usually  held  by  Assyrian  scholars,  the  cuneiform  sys- 
tem constitutes  no  exception  to  this  rule.  I  have  been  surprised  at 
times  at  the  very  slight  indications  and,  as  it  appeared  to  me,  quite 
insufficient  proofs  upon  which  writers  have  applied  the  hypothesis 
named  in  particular  cases,  among  which  I  include  especially  the 
ancient  Phoanician  and  the  Accadian  or  Cushite  systems.  It  will 
be  hazardous,  perhaps,  to  call  in  question  the  fundamental  accuracy 
of  the  hieroglyphic  principle,  in  its  application  to  the  paleographic 
systems  of  antiquity.  But  the  more  I  have  investigated  the  sub- 
ject the  firmer  has  been  my  conviction  that  this  principle  has  been 
too  hastily  adopted  in  some  instances,  and  too  exclusively  applied  in 
all.  That  the  first  system  of  writing  known  to  men  consisted  sim- 
ply of  pictures  of  concrete  objects,  or  in  other  words  of  pure  hiero- 
glyphs, appears  to  me  extremely  doubtful,  notwithstanding  the  gen- 
eral tendency  among  the  authorities  to  support  this  view.  But  I 
would  hold  the  advocates  of  the  hieroglyphic  theory  strictly  to  their 
definitions  and  doctrines.  When  a  concrete  object  has  acquired 
a  symbolical  character,  and  this  fact  has  constituted  the  obvious 
motive  of  selecting  an  image  of  it  for  paleographic  purposes,  we 
have  then,  not  hieroglyphic,  but  symbolical  writing.  Take  for  ex- 
ample the  Hebrew  letters  Aleph,  "ox;"  Beth,  "house,  temple;" 
Teth,  "serpent;"  Kaph,  "hand;"  Nun,  "fish;  "  Ayin,  "eye;"  and 
Tau,  "  cross ;  "  admit  that  these  characters  were  originally  pictures 
of  concrete  objects,  and  represented  phonetically  their  names ;  yet 
this  does  not  prove  that  they  were  hieroglyphs  in  the  strict  sense  of 


32  HAR-MOAD. 

the  theory.  Every  one  of  them  had  acquired  a  symbolico-religious 
character,  and  as  such  was  celebrated  throughout  all  antiquity. 
It  could  be  readily  shown  that  the  religious  notions  attached  to  them 
were  far  more  ancient  than  any  known  written  monuments.  The 
selection  of  the  images  of  these  objects,  therefore,  as  paleographic 
signs,  was  no  mere  picture  writing,  but  was  rather,  and  in  the 
proper  sense,  symbolical.  This  method  having  been  once  established, 
an  extension  of  it  subsequently  to  objects  destitute  of  any  symbolic 
import  would  be  quite  natural ;  and  I  believe  that  such  was  the 
case  among  the  Chinese  and  Egyptians.  In  regard  to  the  Accadian 
or  Cushite  system,  from  which  the  cuneiform  was  derived,  the  hiero- 
glyphic theory  has  been  quite  too  hastily  adopted.  The  recent 
important  admission  of  M.  Lenormant,  that  the  existing  hieratic 
type  of  the  characters  was  probably  the  primitive  one,  must  be  con- 
sidered as  fatal  to  this  theory  as  applied  to  them.1  Undoubtedly, 
we  have  here  many  concrete  objects  represented  as  the  original 
basis  of  the  characters  employed ;  but  it  would  be  easy  to  show 
that  the  objects  themselves  had  acquired  a  symbolic  import,  and 
were  for  this  reason  selected  for  paleographic  purposes.  In  gen- 
eral, then,  my  hypothesis  is  as  follows :  symbolic  writing  was  the 
most  ancient  among  the  cultured  nations  of  antiquity ;  but  subse- 
quently, and  with  certain  peoples,  the  original  method  was  extended 
to  objects  to  which  no  sesthetical  ideas  were  attached.  This  theory 
accords  perfectly  with  the  universal  tradition  respecting  the  inven- 
tion of  writing,  at  the  same  time  that  it  accounts  for  all  the  facts 
now  known.  I  do  not  take  into  consideration  here  the  crude  at- 
tempts at  picture  writing  existing  among  certain  savage  tribes  or 
semi-barbarous  races,  for  the  simple  reason  that  there  exists  not  the 
slightest  proof  that  they  were  the  most  ancient  known  to  man. 

SEC.  15.  The  archeological  studies  proposed  for  the  present  and 
next  succeeding  chapter  will  be  based  to  a  considerable  extent 
upon  various  cuneiform  characters,  under  their  most  ancient  or 
hieratic  form  ;  these  being  taken  for  the  most  part  at  their  ideo- 
graphic value.  For  this  reason  it  has  seemed  necessary  to  insist  at 
the  outset  that  these  characters  are  not  mere  figures  of  concrete 

1  Vid.  Etudes  Accadiennes,  t.  i.  pt.  3d,  p.  7.  The  author's  repertory  of  Acca- 
dian signs,  contained  in  this  part  of  the  work  cited,  will  constitute  our  authority 
upon  the  values  of  the  signs,  except  in  cases  specially  noted.  It  is,  so  far  as  I 
have  knowledge,  the  latest  and  most  complete  treatise  upon  the  subject. 


w 


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T       A 


CUSHITE   ARCHAEOLOGY.  33 

objects,  but  that  they  attach  to  themselves  an  exalted  and  instruc- 
tive symbolism,  highly  important  to  be  considered,  and  constituting 
a  proper  subject  for  archeological  investigation.  The  reader  finds 
in  our  first  plate  several  groups  of  paleographic  signs,  to  which  re- 
ference will  be  had  in  these  studies,  the  greater  portion  of  them 
belonging  to  the  cuneiform  system  of  writing ;  while  the  others, 
either  appertaining  to  other  systems,  or  strictly  to  the  art  monu- 
ments, will  be  explained  in  their  proper  connection.  The  charac- 
ters are  arranged  in  couplets  or  triplets,  as  the  case  may  be,  having 
the  hieratic  form  on  the  left  and  the  corresponding  modern  form  on 
the  right ;  the  small  letters  being  introduced  for  convenience  of  re- 
ference. For  the  value  of  these  characters,  I  shall  follow  chiefly  the 
excellent  treatise  by  M.  Lenormant,  which  was  cited  in  the  last  sec- 
tion (note  1).  The  signs  marked  a,  5,  and  c  of  the  first  group  are 
only  so  far  different  as  would  be  necessary  to  distinguish  readily 
between  them,  and  it  is  natural  to  infer  that  they  appertained  ori- 
ginally to  a  class  of  conceptions  not  less  intimately  connected.  They 
constitute  the  objects  to  which  our  first  attention  will  be  directed. 

The  second  character,,  or  the  one  marked  6,  appears  to  involve  the 
central  idea  of  the  whole,  and  its  Accadian  values  are  as  follows : 
Ni)  "  to  sweep,  to  scrape,  to  clean ;  shovel,  hearth,  God ;  "  Kisal, 
"  altar,  sacrifice ;  "  Zal,  "  joint,  vicinity,  or  neighborhood  "  (Rep. 
142).  It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  shovel  is  a  concrete  object,  and 
one  sufficiently  ordinary  and  humble ;  but  who  can  fail  to  admire 
the  artistic  skill  that  has  raised  this  common  utensil  of  the  house- 
hold to  the  rank  of  a  symbol  of  the  primitive  worship  of  mankind 
—  that  of  the  hearth  !  The  hearth,  and  the  divinity  of  the  hearth, 
constituted  the  focus  of  all  the  ancient  civilizations.  It  was  around 
the  firesides  of  primeval  humanity  that  those  elemental  organiza- 
tions were  formed,  those  social  and  semi-political  customs  instituted, 
and  religious  conceptions  and  sentiments  nurtured,  which  subse- 
quently, by  the  simple  process  of  expansion  and  reduplication,  devel- 
oped themselves  into  tribal  and  national  institutions.  The  hearth 
was  the  family  altar,  and  the  cheerful  blaze  kindled  upon  it  was  the 
symbol  of  the  divinity  who  presided  over  the  destinies  of  the  house- 
hold, seeming  to  share  in  its  fortunes,  receiving  the  grateful  remem- 
brance and  adoration  of  its  members.  The  altar  of  the  tribe  was  its 
hearth,  and  the  national  altar  was  the  national  hearth  ;  the  same 
notions  and  customs  were  transferred  from  one  to  the  other,  being 


34  HAR-MOAD. 

modified  only  so  far  as  necessary  to  adapt  them  to  the  changed  cir- 
cumstances. The  God  of  the  hearth  was  really  the  paternal  head  of 
the  household,  and  its  members  were  his  family.  So,  too,  when  the 
same  divinity  had  been  transferred  to  the  national  altar,  he  became 
the  father  of  the  nation,  while  all  the  members  of  the  commonwealth 
were  his  children.  The  entire  territory  belonging  to  the  state  was 
a  common  patrimony,  and  the  state  itself  an  organization  of  brothers 
and  sisters,  whose  focus  was  the  national  hearth  or  altar.  It  was  im- 
possible for  a  stranger  to  become  a  member  of  the  commonwealth 
except  by  -regular  adoption  into  some  family.  This  principle  of 
adoption  was  an  important  feature  of  the  patriarchal  institutions. 
By  a  fiction  of  law,  a  stranger  could  be  made  a  regular  member  of 
the  household,  and  admitted  to  the  family  sacra  or  worship,  being 
thence  regarded  as  a  blood  relation,  descended  from  the  same  ances- 
tral head.  The  custom  of  adoption  had  a  religious  as  well  as  politi- 
cal significance,  even  from  its  origin  ;  and  this  explains  the  fun- 
damental importance  attached  to  it  by  the  Jewish  and  Christian 
sacred  writers.  It  was  only  upon  the  principle  of  adoption  that  the 
Gentiles  could  be  admitted  into  the  family  of  Jehovah,  and  be 
accounted  as  regular  descendants  in  the  ancestral  line  of  Abraham. 
It  was  only  in  this  way  that  they  could  be  admitted  to  the  divine 
sacra,  and  be  permitted  to  feast  upon  the  great  Sacrifice,  which 
was  Christ. 

SEC.  16.  "When  it  is  found  that  the  Accadian  character  whose 
usual  reading  is  Ni  had  the  meaning  of  hearth,  altar,  God,  this  is 
sufficient  to  demonstrate  that  the  G(  d  Ni  was  the  hearth-divinity 
of  the  Accadian  or  Cushite  race.  The  cuneiform  texts  afford  but 
little  information  respecting  the  special  character  and  primitive  wor- 
ship of  this  divine  personage,  except  the  one  great  fact  which  will 
be  developed  hereafter.  The  general  absence  of  this  name  from 
the  ordinary  lists  of  divinities  favors  the  supposition  that  the  wor- 
ship of  Ni  had  been  very  ancient,  but  had  fallen  into  neglect  at  the 
period  to  which  the  existing  monuments  pertain.  But  the  peculiar 
nature  of  the  house-gods  of  antiquity  may  be  learned  from  the 
classic  nations,  particularly  the  Romans,  or  Etrusco-Romans.  It  is 
now  known  that  the  Etrusco-Roman  civilization  was  derived,  in  a 
great  measure,  from  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates.  Thus,  it  is  prob- 
able that  we  may  find  in  the  Roman  cultus  of  the  Penates  and 
Lares  of  the  Latin  nation  a  reflex  of  the  religious  conceptions  and 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  35 

customs  centring  in  the  primitive  Cushite  god  of  the  hearth. 
Dr.  William  Smith  has  the  following  notice  of  the  Roman  house- 
divinities  :  — 

"  Penates,  the  household  gods  of  the  Romans,  both  those  of  a 
private  family  and  of  the  state  as  the  great  family  of  citizens. 
Hence  we  have  to  distinguish  between  private  and  public  Penates. 
The  name  is  connected  with  penus,  and  the  images  of  those  gods 
were  kept  in  the  penetralia,  or  the  central  part  of  the  house.  The 
Lares  were  included  among  the  Penates;  both  names,  in  fact,  are 
often  used  synonymously.  .  .  .  The  Lares,  however,  though  in- 
cluded in  the  Penates,  were  not  the  only  Penates ;  for  each  family 
had  usually  no  more  than  one  Lar,  whereas  the  Penates  are  always 
spoken  of  in  the  plural.  .  .  .  Since  Jupiter  and  Juno  were  regarded 
as  the  protectors  of  happiness  and  peace  in  the  family,  these  divin- 
ities were  worshiped  as  Penates.  Vesta  was  also  reckoned  among 
the  Penates ;  for  each  hearth,  being  the  symbol  of  domestic  union, 
had  its  Vesta."  "Most  ancient  writers  believe  that  the  Penates  of 
the  state  were  brought  by  JEneas  from  Troy  into  Italy,  .  .  .  and 
were  preserved  first  at  Lavinium,  afterward  at  Alba  Longa,  and 
finally  at  Rome.  .  .  .  At  Rome  they  had  a  chapel  near  the  centre 
of  the  city  in  a  place  called  tfub  Velia.  As  the  public  Lares  were 
worshiped  in  the  central  part  of  the  city  and  at  the  public  hearth, 
so  the  private  Penates  had  their  plac.e  at  the  hearth  of  every  house, 
and  the  table  also  was  sacred  to  them.  On  the  hearth  a  perpetual 
fire  was  kept  up  in  their  honor,  and  the  table  always  contained  the 
salt-cellar  and  the  firstlings  of  fruit  for  these  divinities.  Every 
meal  that  was  taken  in  the  house  thus  resembled  a  sacrifice  offered 
to  the  Penates,  beginning  with  a  purification  and  ending  with  a 
libation,  which  was  poured  either  on  the  table  or  upon  the  hearth. 
After  every  absence  from  the  hearth,  the  Penates  were  saluted  like 
the  living  inhabitants  of  the  house ;  and  whoever  went  abroad 
prayed  to  the  Penates  and  Lares  for  a  happy  return,  and  when  he 
came  back  to  his  house,  he  hung  up  his  armor,  staff,  and  the  like, 
by  the  side  of  their  images."  (Class.  Die.,  art.  Penates.) 

It  is  observed  by  another  author  that :  "  In  general,  and  as  prin- 
cipal tutelary  divinities,  the  Penates  bore  the  name  of  great  gods 
(magni  clii,  OtoL  /xcyaXot,  Swarot).  It  was  doubtless  from  this  fact  that 
they  were  identified  with  the  great  gods  carried  from  Accadia  to 
Samothrace "  (Bernard,  Die.  Myth.,  art.  Penates).  On  the  sub- 
ject of  the  expansion  or  reduplication  of  the  family  organization 
into  that  of  the  tribe  and  nation,  Mr.  H.  S.  Maine  remarks:  — 

"  In  most  of  the  Greek  states  and  in  Rome  there  long  remained 
the  vestiges  of  an  ascending  series  of  groups  out  of  which  the  state 


36 


HAR-MOAD. 


was  at  first  constituted.  The  family,  house,  and  tribe  of  the 
Romans  may  be  taken  as  the  type  of  them,  and  they  are  so  de- 
scribed to  us  that  we  can  scarcely  help  conceiving  them  as  a  system 
of  concentric  circles,  which  have  gradually  expanded  from  the  same 
point.  The  elementary  group  is  the  family,  connected  by  common 
subjection  to  the  highest  male  ascendant.  The  aggregation  of  fam- 
ilies forms  the  gens  or  house.  The  aggregation  of  houses  makes 
the  tribe.  The  aggregation  of  tribes  constitutes  the  common- 
wealth. Are  we  at  liberty  to  follow  these  indications,  and  to  lay 
down  that  the  commonwealth  is  a  collection  of  persons  united  by 
common  descent  from  the  progenitor  of  an  original  family  ?  Of 
this  we  may  at  least  be  certain,  that  all  ancient  societies  regarded 
themselves  as  having  proceeded  from  one  original  stock,  and  even 
labored  under  an  incapacity  for  comprehending  any  reason  except 
this  for  their  holding  together  in  political  union.  The  history  of 
political  ideas  begins,  in  fact,  with  the  assumption  that  kinship  in 
blood  is  the  sole  possible  ground  of  community  in  political  func- 
tions." 1 

It  rarely  happened,  however,  that  all  the  members  of  a  common- 
wealth, or  of  a  single  tribe  even,  were  actually  descended  from  the 
same  ancestor.  They  were  considered  as  such  on  the  principle  of 
adoption  only,  as  Mr.  Maine  has  explained.  The  reader  will  not 
fail  to  recognize,  in  the  foregoing  remarks,  some  of  the  most  impor- 
tant facts  and  conceptions  underlying  the  two  religions  of  the  Bible; 
and,  indeed,  all  the  ancient  religions  and  civilizations  were,  in  a 
great  measure,  founded  upon  these  principles. 

SEC.  17.  We  comprehend  now  the  character  of  the  divinity 
of  the  hearth ;  and  the  full  significance  to  be  attached  to  the  paleo- 
graphic  symbol  Ni,  designating  the  hearth,  the  altar,  the  deity. 
But  the  most  important  fact  of  all  is,  that  the  Accadian  or  Cushite 
God  Ni  was  one  and  the  same  personage  with  Yahveh,  or  Jehovah, 
of  the  Old  Testament.  If  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  contain  but 
few  notices  respecting  the  hearth-god  in  question,  they  at  least 
afford  abundant  proof  of  the  statement  just  made.  In  the  Sylla- 
baries the  Accadian  Ni  is  repeatedly  equated  to  the  Assyrian,  that 
is  to  say,  to  the  Semitic  Ya-hu  (Nos.  685-687).  In  the  text  here 
cited,  the  term  Ya-hu  is  put  for  the  three  values  of  our  Accadian 
sign,  namely,  Ni,  Zal,  and  Hi,  the  latter  being  correctly  inter- 
preted "  a  god  "  by  Mr.  Norris.2  That  the  Accadian  Ni  is  trans- 
lated by  the  Assyrian  or  Semitic  Ya-hu,  and  that  the  latter  is  put 
1  Ancient  Law,  pp.  123,  124.  2  Assyr.  Die.,  ii.  p.  476. 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  37 

for  a  divinity,  are  points  upon  which  it  is  impossible  to  raise  a  doubt. 
Two  other  texts  cited  by  Mr.  Norris,  by  comparing  them  together, 
show  that  Ya-hu  was  considered  a  name  of  divinity.  Thus,  a  king 
of  Hamath  is  mentioned,  whose  name  is  written  Ilu-bi'h-di  in  one 
instance,  and  11  Yahu-U'h-di  in  a  different  text.1  II  or  llu  was 
the  supreme  divinity  of  Babylon,  being  one  with  the  Hebrew  El. 
In  the  second  example  given  above,  Ya-hu,  preceded  by  //  as  char- 
acteristic of  divinity,  takes  the  place  of  llu,  name  of  the  Baby- 
lonian deity,  in  the  first  example.  Here  are  two  distinct  proofs 
that  Ya-hu  is  taken  as  a  name  of  God.  First,  we  have  the  substi- 
tution of  Ya-hu  for  llu ;  and  secondly,  Ya-hu  is  preceded  by  the 
determinative  of  divinity.  In  view  of  these  facts,  Dr.  Schrader 
has  well  expressed  the  conclusion  that,  as  llu  equals  the  Hebrew 
El,  so  Ya-hu  must  be  one  with  the  Hebrew  Yahu,  Yahveh,  or  Jeho- 
vah ;  especially  as  the  Jewish  Scriptures  consider  Jehovah  and  El 
as  the  same  personage.2  If  now  any  doubt  remains  respecting  the 
identity  of  the  Assyrian  Ya-hu  with  the  Biblical  Yahveh  or  Jeho- 
vah, it  is  removed  by  the  fact  of  the  occurrence  in  the  texts  of  two 
kings'  names,  Jehu  and  Jehoahaz,  both  containing  the  Hebrew 
element  Yahu,  Yaho,  or  Yahveh  in  composition.  Thus,  Jehu  is 
written  in  the  cuneiform  by  Ya-hu-a ;  while  in  the  other  case  we 
have  Ya-hu-ha-zi  for  Jehoahaz.5  These  examples  show  that  it 
was  customary  with  the  Assyrian  scribes  to  write  the  name  of  the 
Hebrew  national  divinity  in  the  manner  here  indicated,  and  that 
they  considered  the  Assyrian  Ya-hu  equivalent  to  the  Hebrew  Yahu 
or  Yahveh. 

1  Assyr.  Die.,  p.  482. 

2  Vid.  Schrader,  Keilinschrift.  u.  d.  Alt.  Test.,  pp.  3-5,  where  the  same  texts 
are  cited,  and  a  like  inference  drawn  to  that  set  forth  by  us,  but  without  refer- 
ence to  the  Accadian  God  Ni. 

8  Norris,  ii.  pp.  476,  477.  M.  James  Halevy,  in  a  recent  critical  paper  relat- 
ing to  the  cuneiform  writing,  affords  a  direct  confirmation  of  our  position,  that 
the  god  Ni  was  a  divinity  of  the  hearth.  To  the  character  Ni  lie  attaches  the 
senses  of  "  sojourn,  abode,  the  god  Jahu"  identifying  John  with  the  Greek  'AJs, 
answering  to  the  god  Hea  (Jour.  Asiatlque,  March-April,  1876,  pp.  260,  266). 
This  proves  that  Ni  was  primitively  associated  with  the  house,  the  family.  As 
for  the  god  Hea,  M.  Lenormant  has  well  interpreted  the  name  itself  as  signifying 
"abode,"  "dwelling,"  etc.  The  resemblance  of  Hea  to  Jehovah,  as  manifest 
especially  in  Christ,  is  illustrated  in  various  facts  to  be  hereafter  developed. 
Indeed,  Hea  takes  the  title  Auv  Kinuv  (^3  Sin)»  *n  the  texts,  which  signifies 
Existent  Being ;  the  first  element  being  the  same  Semitic  radical  from  which  the 
name  Yaveh,  or  Jehovah,  is  formed. 


38  HAR-MOAD. 


The  Accadian  term  JV£,  then,  is  not  identical  with  the  Assyrian 
Ya-hu,  for  they  belong  to  different  languages.  But  the  Assyrian 
word  must  be  taken  as  a  translation  of  the  Accadian,  both  terms 
being  put  for  one  and  the  same  divine  personage.  The  result  is, 
from  the  data  that  have  been  now  submitted,  that  the  national  God 
of  the  Jews  was  originally  one  with  the  ancient  Accadian  or  Cush- 
ite  divinity  of  the  hearth.  The  fact  thus  brought  to  light  is  of 
very  great  importance,  though  it  will  be  received  with  some  hesi- 
tancy among  Biblical  scholars.  Nevertheless,  the  proofs  are  direct 
and  positive,  and  I  entertain  no  doubt  of  the  correctness  of  the 
conclusion  to  which  the  data  have  conducted  me.  But  it  would  be 
quite  illegitimate  to  infer,  from  the  assimilation  here  established, 
that  the  Jehovah  of  the  Old  Testament  was  originally  regarded  as 
a  divinity  of  inferior  rank,  like  some  of  the  house-gods  of  antiquity. 
It  has  been  seen  that  the  Accadian  God  Ni  was  considered  the  same 
personage  as  the  Semitic  llu,  Ily  Hebrew  El^  whom  the  sacred 
writers  identify  with  the  Jehovah  of  the  Jews.  As  before  observed, 
El  was  the  supreme  divinity  of  Babylon,  and  it  is  well  known  that 
He  was  held  primitively  in  the  highest  estimation  by  the  entire 
Semitic  race.  In  addition  to  this,  we  have  seen  that,  among  the 
Romans,  the  highest  divinities  were  worshiped  as  Penates,  such  as 
Jupiter,  Juno,  and  Vesta,  and  that  the  Penates  themselves  received 
the  title  of  "  great  gods."  Vesta  was  characteristically  a  divinity 
of  the  hearth,  yet  she  received  the  highest  honors.  Dr.  Smith  has 
the  following  remarks  relative  to  her  character  and  worship  :  — 

"  Vesta,  one  of  the  great  Roman  divinities,  identical  with  the 
Greek  Hestia,  both  in  name  and  import.  She  was  the  goddess  of 
the  hearth,  and  therefore  inseparably  connected  with  the  Penates  ; 
for  -/Eneas  was  believed  to  have  brought  the  eternal  fire  of  Vesta 
from  Troy  along  with  the  images  of  the  Penates  ;  and  the  praetors, 
consuls,  and  dictators,  before  entering  upon  their  official  functions, 
sacrificed,  not  only  to  the  Penates,  but  also  to  Vesta  at  Lavinium. 
In  the  ancient  Roman  house,  the  hearth  was  the  central  part,  and 
around  it  all  the  inmates  daily  assembled  for  their  common  meal 
(coena)  ;  every  meal  thus  taken  was  a  fresh  bond  of  union  and 
affection  among  the  members  of  the  family,  and  at  the  same  time 
an  act  of  worship  of  Vesta,  combined  with  a  sacrifice  to  her  and  the 
Penates.  Every  dwelling-house,  therefore,  was  in  some  sense  a 
temple  of  Vesta  ;  but  a  public  sanctuary  united  all  the  citizens  of  the 
state  into  one  family  "  (Class.  Die.,  art.  Vesta.) 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  39 

It  has  been  already  shown  that  the  divinity  of  the  hearth  was 
transferred  successively  to  the  altar  of  the  tribe,  and  thence  to  that 
of  the  nation,  which  was  thus  the  national  hearth.  In  those  in- 
stances where  the  national  divinities  were  really  different  from  the 
primitive  house-gods,  the  former  must  have  been  a  later  conception  ; 
for  the  family  was  the  original  unit  of  society,  from  whose  expan- 
sion or  reduplication  the  tribe  and  state  were  subsequently  formed. 
The  divinity  of  the  hearth  was  thus  not  only  primitive,  but  was 
the  exclusive  object  of  worship  in  the  first  ages  of  the  world.  Such 
was  the  Accadian  God  Ni,  identical  with  Yahveh  of  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures. 

SEC.  18.  A  comparison  of  the  chief  attributes  of  the  Jehovah  of 
the  Old  Testament,  and  of  the  essential  relations  He  sustained  to 
the  Israelitish  people,  with  the  principal  features  of  the  Cushite 
divinity  Ni.  as  interpreted  by  the  notions  and  customs  of  the 
Etrusco-Romans,  will  contribute  materially,  not  only  as  additional 
evidence  of  the  original  identity  of  the  two  divine  personages,  but 
as  an  important  key  to  the  underlying  conceptions  of  the  Mosaic 
religion,  which,  if  they  were  insisted  upon  by  the  writers  of  former 
periods,  have  fallen  into  general  neglect,  and  have  been  often  called 
in  question  by  more  modern  authorities.  With  a  view  to  such 
general  comparison,  I  introduce  here  some  lengthy  extracts  from 
the  learned  Dr.  Cudworth,  which  will  admirably  serve  our  pur- 
pose :  — 

"  In  like  manner,  I  say,  the  eating  of  sacrifices,  which  were  God's 
meat,  was  a  federal  rite  between  God  and  those  that  did  partake  of 
them,  and  signified  there  was  a  covenant  of  friendship  between  him 
and  them  ;  for  the  better  conceiving  whereof,  we  must  observe  that 
sacrifices,  beside  the  nature  of  expiation,  had  the  notion  of  feasts, 
which  God  himself  did,  as  it  were,  feed  upon,  which  I  explain 
thus:  when  God  had  brought  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt,, 
resolving  to  manifest  himself  in  a  peculiar  manner  present  among 
them,  he  thought  good  to  dwell  amongst  them  in  a  visible  and  ex- 
ternal manner,  and  therefore,  while  they  were  in  the  wilderness, 
and  sojourned  in  tents,  he  would  have  a  tent  or  tabernacle  built,  to 
sojourn  with  them  also.  This  mystery  of  the  tabernacle  was  fully 
understood  by  the  learned  Nachmanides,  who  in  few  words,  but 
pregnant,  thus  expresseth  it ;  that  is,  the  mystery  of  the  tabernacle 
was  this,  that  it  was  to  be  a  place  for  the  Shechinah,  or  habitation 
of  the  divinity  to  be  fixed  in  ;  and  this,  no  doubt,  as  a  special  type 
of  God's  future  dwelling  in  Christ's  human  nature,  which  was  the 


40  HAR-MOAD. 

true  Shvchinah.  But,  when  the  Jews  were  come  into  their  land, 
and  had  there  built  them  houses,  God  intended  to  have  fixed  a 
dwelling-house  also  ;  and  therefore  his  movable  tabernacle  was  to 
be  turned  into  a  standing  temple. 

"  Now  the  tabernacle  or  temple  being  thus  as  a  house  for  God  to 
dwell  in  visibly,  to  make  up  the  notion  of  a  dwelling  or  habitation 
complete  there  must  be  all  things  suitable  to  a  house  belonging  to 
it.  Hence,  in  the  holy  place,  there  must  be  a  table  and  a  candle- 
stick, because  this  was  the  ordinary  furniture  of  a  room,  as  the  fore 
commended  Nachmanides  observes :  He  addeth  a  table  and  a  can- 
dlestick, because  these  suit  the  notion  of  a  dwelling  house.  The 
table  must  have  its  dishes,  and  spoons,  and  bowls,  and  covers, 
belonging  to  it,  though  they  were  never  used,  and  always  be  fur- 
nished with  bread  upon  it.  The  candlestick  must  have  its  lamps 
continually  burning.  Hence  also  there  must  be  a  continued  fire 
kept  in  this  house  of  God's  upon  the  altar,  as  the  focus  of  it,  to 
which  notion,  I  conceive,  the  prophet  Isaiah  doth  allude  (xxxi.  9), 
which  I  would  thus  translate :  Who  hath  his  fire  in  Sion,  and  his 
focus  in  Jerusalem. 

"  And  besides  all  this,  to  carry  the  notion  still  further,  there  must 
be  some  constant  meat  and  provision  brought  into  this  house,  which 
was  done  in  the  sacrifices  that  were  partly  consumed  by  fire  upon 
God's  own  altar,  and  partly  eaten  by  the  priests,  which  were  God's 
family,  and  therefore  to  be  maintained  by  him.  That  which  was 
consumed  upon  God's  altar  was  accounted  G-od's  mess,  as  appeareth 
from  the  first  chapter  of  Malachi  (v.  12),  where  the  altar  is  called 
G-od's  table,  and  the  sacrifice  upon  it  God1 8  meat :  4  Ye  say,  the 
table  of  God  is  polluted,  and  the  fruit  thereof,  his  meat,  is  con- 
temptible.' And  often  in  the  land  the  sacrifice  is  called  God's  (cnb) 
bread  or  food. 

"  The  sacrifices,  then,  being  God's  feasts,  they  that  did  partake  of 
them  must  needs  be  his  guests  (canvas),  and  in  a  man  net-  eat  and 
drink  with  him.  And  that  this  did  bear  the  notion  of  a  federal 
rite  in  the  Scripture  account,  I  prove  from  that  place  (Lev.  ii.  18)  : 
4  Thou  shall  not  suffer  the  salt  of  the  covenant  of  thy  God  to  be 
lacking ;  with  all  thine  offerings  thou  shalt  offer  salt.'  Where  the 
salt  that  was  to  be  cast  upon  all  the  sacrifices  is  called  the  salt  of 
the  covenant,  to  signify  that  as  men  did  use  to  make  covenants  by 
eating  and  drinking  together,  where  salt  is  a  necessary  appendix, 
so  God  by  these  sacrifices,  and  the  feasts  upon  them,  did  ratify  and 
confirm  his  covenant  with  those  that  did  partake  of  them,  inasmuch 
as  they  did  in  a  manner  eat  and  drink  with  him.  For  salt  was  ever 
accounted  amongst  the  ancients  a  most  necessary  concomitant  of 
feasts,  and  condiment  of  all  meats.  .  .  .  And  therefore  because  cov- 
enants and  reconciliations  were  made  by  eating  and  drinking,  where 


CUSHITE   ARCHEOLOGY.  41 

salt  was  always  used,  salt  itself  was  accounted  among  the  ancients 
a  symbol  of  friendship  (amidtice  symbolum.y  l 

SEC.  19.  It  will  be  impossible  not  to  recognize  in  the  foregoing 
extracts  the  various  notions  and  customs,  modified  to  adapt  them  to 
the  purposes  of  a  commonwealth,  that  originally  pertained  to  the 
divinity  of  the  hearth,  before  families  had  reduplicated  into  tribes, 
and  tribes  into  nationalities.  To  complete  the  comparison,  how- 
ever, it  will  be  necessary  to  introduce  here  a  brief  explanation  of 
the  two  cuneiform  signs  a  and  c,  in  the  group  upon  which  we  have 
been  engaged.  For  the  first  we  have  the  values :  Ru,  u  to  make, 
to  construct ;  "  Kak,  "  to  make,  to  complete,  all ;  "  Pd,  "  to  make, 
to  construct."  The  character  marked  c  stands  for  Ir,  "  fruit,  em- 
bryo, foetus  ;  "  Sukal,  the  same  (Rep.  141,  143).  The  typical 
constructions  were  the  house  and  the  temple,  primitively  consid- 
ered as  one ;  and  the  typical  fruits  were  the  products  of  the  field, 
and  the  first-born  child,  through  whom  the  inheritance  of  the  family 
was  to  be  perpetuated. 

These  conceptions,  together  with  the  various  facts  that  have 
been  now  collected  into  view,  will  enable  us  to  transport  ourselves, 
so  to  speak,  to  the  hearth-stones  of  primitive  humanity.  He  who 
illumes  both  sun  and  star,  and  kindles  the  fires  upon  creation's 
hearth-stone,  had  thus  early  in  the  history  of  our  race  taken  up 
his  abode  in  human  habitations.  He  who  is  enthroned  in  the 
heavens,  who  issues  from  the  gates  of  morning  with  beams  of 
light,  that  fall  on  the  world  in  golden  showers,  had  sought  an  abid- 
ing-place with  his  rational  creatures.  But  He  was  not  a  guest 
beneath  the  humble  roof  which  He  had  chosen  for  his  temple,  and 
where  men  and  women  first  learned  to  worship,  to  love,  and  to  obey. 
They  were  His  guests,  His  people,  His  sons  and  daughters.  That 
was  His  house,  His  table,  His  fireside.  The  consecrated  hearth, 
whose  mystic  flame  was  the  symbol  of  his  own  divine  existence, 
was  His  focus,  His  altar.  It  was  there  that  the  institutions  and 
civilizations  of  the  ancient  world  were  cradled,  and  it  was  He  who 
had  forged  their  nerves  and  sinews  with  his  own  bands.  It  was 
from  the  hot  bosom  of  the  domestic  hearth,  under  the  watchful  care 
of  its  presiding  divinity,  that  those  giants  leaped  forth  who  were 
the  first  founders  of  religions  and  of  states,  and  it  was  the  divine 
artisan,  with  the  chimney-corner  for  his  smithy,  who  welded  those 
1  Intellect.  System,  etc.,  ii.  pp.  536-539, 


HAR-MOAD. 

bonds  of  human  society  which  were  destined  to  unite  all  the  fami- 
lies and  kindreds  of  earth  in  one  brotherhood. 

But  it  was  not  as  a  simple  taskmaster  that  the  Deity  thus  early 
selected  the  family  circle  for  his  favorite  abiding- place.  He  knew 
that,  if  anywhere  on  earth,  there  would  be  love,  between  father  and 
mother,  brother  and  sister.  It  was  his  nature  to  love,  and  only  in 
the  circle  of  loving  hearts  could  He  find  a  home.  The  world  with- 
out was  beautiful,  the  heavens  were  peopled  with  shining  hosts,  and 
the  earth,  from  her  mountain  peaks  to  her  ocean  depths,  was  alive 
with  the  living  forms  which  He  had  created.  He  could  dwell  on 
those  heights  where  the  thunders  and  the  lightnings  have  their 
birth  ;  in  those  deep  watery  caverns  whose  floors  are  studded  with 
pearls ;  or  beneath  the  shady  oaks  and  pines  where  the  zephyrs  play 
and  the  birds  sing.  But  it  was  man  alone  whom  He  had  created  in 
his  own  image,  and  whom  He  loved  with  a  father's  affection.  It 
was  thus  with  the  sons  and  daughters  of  men  that  He  desired  to 
dwell,  and  into  their  habitations  that  he  wished  to  be  received.  He 
would  share  their  lot  and  destiny,  would  be  their  provider,  protec- 
tor, their  friend  and  their  God,  if  they  would  only  love  Him.  From 
the  bright  morning  when  the  bridal  pair  first  invoked  his  presence 
and  blessing  upon  the  hearth,  through  all  the  long  years  of  toil  and 
struggle,  till  the  frosts  gathered  upon  their  heads,  and  finally  the 
crimson  sea  had  frozen  over  in  their  hearts,  He  would  be  with 
them,  and  abide  with  them,  and  be  their  God  forever.  The  first- 
fruits  of  the  harvest  and  the  first-born  of  the  household  should  be 
his,  and  every  feast  and  joyous  festival  should  be  sacred  to  Him,  as 
a  pledge  of  his  friendship,  as  a  covenant  of  salt  between  Him  and 
them !  * 

Such  was  one  of  the  original  conceptions  of  the  Jewish  theocracy. 
Earlier  than  the  time  of  Abraham,  earlier  than  the  tower  of  Babel, 
and  while  the  Hamite  and  Semite,  the  Turanian  and  Aryan,  were 
yet  as  one  family,  this  grand  idea  had  been  taught  the  world.  We 
have  the  proof  in  the  existence  of  the  Accadian  or  Cushite  Ni,  a 
term  that,  while  it  designated  the  God  of  the  hearth,  proved  to 
have  been  one  with  Yahveh  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  was  at  the 
same  time  a  suffix  pronoun  of  the  Cushite  tongue,  and  thus  apper- 
tained to  the  primitively  developed  stages  of  this  ancient  language. 

1  [What  goes  before  was  condensed  into  an  eight-page  article  and  published  in 
The  American  Antiquarian  and  Oriental  Journal,  July,  1882.  S.  M.  W.] 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  43 

As  a  pronoun  it  involved  the  notion  of  possession,  being  put  for  the 
possessive  case.  The  hearth  as  a  possession,  and  so  the  first-born 
child,  were  co-related  and  typical  ideas ;  and  the  connection  of  the 
God  Ni  with  Yahveh,  as  divinity  of  the  hearth,  calls  forcibly  to 
mind  the  joyful  exclamation  of  the  first  mother,  when  she  said :  / 
have  gotten  a  man  from  Yahveh  (Gen.  iv.  1).  Thus  early  invoked 
at  the  firesides  of  our  race,  on  the  multiplication  and  expansion  of 
families  into  tribes,  and  of  tribes  into  nationalities,  the  divinity  of 
the  hearth  was  transferred  from  one  to  the  other,  presiding  thus  at 
the  inauguration  of  states  and  of  national  religions,  the  Hebrew 
among  the  rest.  The  notion  that  God  dwells,  inhabits,  the  same  as 
man,  was  everywhere  fundamental ;  and  it  was  for  this  reason  that 
the  national  temple  was  considered  God's  House,  and  its  altar  the 
National  Hearth. 

SEC.  20.  To  bestow  upon  any  object  an  individual  name  is  in  so 
far  to  distinguish  it  from  the  mass,  and  actually  to  raise  it  to  a 
higher  rank  in  our  conception.  If  a  race  of  men  were  discovered, 
of  which  the  individuals  had  no  personal  names,  this  fact  alone 
would  be  conclusive  as  to  the  exceedingly  low  order  of  development 
of  the  race  itself.  For  a  domestic  animal  to  receive  a  particular 
name,  learning  to  recognize  and  answer  to  it,  is  really  to  distinguish 
it  from  the  generality  and  in  a  measure  to  elevate  it.  With  the 
ancients,  much  importance  was  attached  to  personal  names,  these 
having  usually  a  symbolical  import,  which  could  be  etymologically 
explained.  The  true  title  of  the  Deity,  considered  as  a  personal 
name,  instead  of  a  general  or  generic  one,  was  held  in  the  highest 
veneration,  being  supposed  not  only  to  express  the  nature  of  God, 
but  to  be  in  some  sense  the  Deity  himself  in  his  external  manifesta- 
tion. To  call  upon  this  name  of  God  was  to  enter  into  a  concrete 
personal  relation  with  him.  In  fact,  where  the  Deity  is  habitually 
addressed  in  worship  by  generic  titles,  or  by  those  that  have  become 
such  practically  in  conception,  it  is  evidence  that  men  have  ceased, 
in  a  measure,  to  enter  into  that  intimate,  personal  relation  with  the 
Divine  Being  that  those  of  antiquity  believed  themselves  to  do. 
This  leads  us  to  our  second  group  of  cuneiform  characters. 

The  signs  marked  from  a  to  e  of  the  second  group,  in  their  hie- 
ratic form,  present  a  striking  analogy  in  their  construction,  leading 
to  the  inference  that  the  notions  attached  to  them  must  be  also  fun- 
damentally related.  For  the  character  a  we  have  the  values :  Mu, 


HAR-MOAD. 

"to  give,  to  call,  name,  memorial,  year"  (Rep.  24).  The  sign  b  is 
put  for  Gri,  "  flame  ;  to  found,  foundation  ;  to  deport,  to  transport ;  to 
restore"  (Rep.  85).  The  next  in  order  is  Zi,  "to  live,  life,  soul, 
person,  spirit ;  regulation,  rule,  law  "  (Rep.  84).  Then  follows  Ri, 
"to  heap  up,  column,  to  elevate,  elevation ;  to  rise,  appearance,  as  a 
star"  (Rep.  87).  Finally  is  Ar,  whose  meaning  is  not  given  by  M. 
Lenormant,  although  it  must  signify  "  vineyard,  palm-tree,"  accord- 
ing to  the  texts  which  will  be  cited  hereafter.  The  Accadian  Mu 
is  found  ordinarily  in  the  Assyrian  texts  as  the  monogram  for  Sam, 
"  name,"  and  Sanat,  "  year."  The  character  Gri,  "  flame,"  has  been 
recognized  by  Sir  H.  Rawlinson  as  a  monogram  for  the  Scythic  or 
Accadian  Fire-god.  The  sign '  Ri  is  often  employed  as  a  monogram 
for  the  goddess  Is-tar,  or  Babylonian  Venus.  The  last  character, 
Ar,  is  strictly  composite,  being  constituted  of  the  sign  Ri  and  the 
Accadian  Si,  "  eye,  face,  presence,  prospect,  country  "  (Rep.  359). 

It  will  be  evident,  even  from  a  superficial  view  of  these  hieratic 
symbols,  that  they  represent  material  objects,  either  natural  or  arti- 
ficial, and  it  will  be  necessary,  if  possible,  to  ascertain  what  they 
are.  The  second  hieratic  form  for  Mu,  if  placed  uprightly  before 
the  eye,  seems  to  show  for  itself  that  it  was  intended  for  a  bush  or 
tree.  The  other  form,  although  constructed  somewhat  differently, 
must  represent  the  same  object.  The  two  figures,  then,  being  sim- 
ple variants  of  the  characters  before  us,  must  be  taken  for  a  bush 
or  tree ;  one  presenting  this  object  approximatively  in  its  natural 
form,  while  the  other  shows  an  artificial  tree,  similar  to  those  which 
appear  so  frequently  upon  the  ancient  art  monuments.  If  now  we 
compare  these  two  forms  with  that  marked  b,  and  thus  with  each 
one  of  the  series,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  gradations  from  one  to  the 
other  are  perfectly  natural,  affording  only  sufficient  variations  to 
distinguish  between  them  as  paleographic  symbols  ;  and  the  conclu- 
sion becomes  obvious  that  the  sacred  tree,  so  celebrated  in  the  reli- 
gions of  antiquity,  formed  the  original  basis  of  all  these  characters. 
This  supposition  will  become  more  and  more  apparent  as  we  pro- 
ceed with  these  investigations. 

SEC.  21.  If  the  hieratic  form  of  Zi,  signifying  "  life,  soul,  spirit," 
etc.,  represented  a  tree,  this  must  have  been  no  other  than  the 
"  tree  of  life ; ""  and  as  the  traditions-  pertaining  to  this  one  object 
evidently  formed  the  staple  element  in  all  the  religious  conceptions 
of  this  class,  so  the  character  Zi  may  be  considered  naturally  the 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  45 

centre  of  the  group  to  be  studied.  The  Scriptures  afford  but  few 
notices  of  the  tree  of  life,  serving  to  convey  a  definite  idea  of  it,  but 
these  few  are  very  significant,  and,  taken  in  connection  with  other 
facts  now  known,  it  will  be  possible  to  deduce  some  conclusions  of  a 
nature  quite  important  and  reliable.  The  Revelator  alludes  to  this 
subject  in  the  following  terms  :  — 

"  And  he  shewed  me  a  pure  river  of  water  of  life,  clear  as  crystal,  proceeding 
out  of  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb.  In  the  middle  of  the  street  of  it,  and 
on  either  side  of  the  river,  was  there  the  tree  of  life,  which  bare  twelve  manner  of 
fruits,  and  yielded  her  fruit  every  month  :  and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for  the 
healing  of  the  nations."  (Rev.  xxii.  1,  2.) 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  and  uniformly  interpreted  by  exe- 
getes  as  relating  to  the  tree  of  life,  is  the  language  of  Ezekiel :  — 

"  And  by  the  river  upon  the  bank  thereof,  on  this  side  and  on  that  side,  shall 
grow  all  trees  for  meat,  whose  leaf  shall  not  fade,  neither  shall  the  fruit  thereof 
be  consumed  (exhausted);  it  shall  bring  forth  new  fruit  according  to  his  months, 
because  their  waters  they  issued  out  of  the  sanctuary  ;  and  the  fruit  thereof  shall 
be  for  meat,  and  the  leaf  thereof  for  medicine."  (Ezek.  xlvii.  12.) 

The  data  upon  which  both  these  passages  substantially  agree  are, 
1st.  The  tree  is  planted  upon  both  banks  of  the  sacred  river,  this 
having  its  source  under  the  sanctuary  or  beneath  the  throne  of  God. 
2d.  It  produces  a  fruit-harvest  each  month,  there  being  twelve  dur- 
ing the  year.  3d.  The  fruits  serve  the  purpose  of  food,  and  the 
leaves  that  of  medicine.  Professor  Moses  Stewart  has  some  very 
judicious  remarks  upon  the  first  text  cited  above,  which  I  sub- 
join : 

"  The  writer  conceives  here  of  the  river  as  running  through  the 
whole  city ;  then  of  streets  parallel  to  it  on  each  side  ;  and  then,  on 
the  banks  of  the  river,  between  the  water  and  the  street,  the  whole 
stream  is  lined  on  each  side  with  two  rows  of  the  tree  of  life.  The 
phrase  (fv\ov  £on)s)  is  generic,  and  means  something  equivalent  to 
our  word  grove.  Producing  twelve  fruit-harvests,  not  (as  our  ver- 
sion) twelve  manner  of  fruits.  In  order  to  afford  an  abundant  sup- 
ply for  all  the  inhabitants,  it  bears  twelve  crops  in  a  year  instead  of 
one."  1 

In  short,  the  Revelator  depicts  here  the  highest  ideal  of  an  Ori- 
ental city,  with  its  luxurious  gardens,  abundantly  supplied  with 
pure  water  and  food-trees,  like  the  sacred  river  and  tree  of  life  of 
the  traditional  paradise  ;  and  we  know  now,  not  only  that  these  rich 
gardens  of  the  Eastern  monarchs  were  termed  "  paradises,"  but 
that  they  were  often  expressly  designed  as  imitations  of  the  first 
1  Commentary  on  the  Apocalypse  in  loc. 


46 


HAR-MOAD. 


abode  of  humanity  on  earth.  The  question  arises  here,  whether 
any  of  the  sacred  trees  of  antiquity,  known  to  us  as  such,  answers 
exactly,  or  nearly  so,  to  the  Biblical  description  of  the  u  tree  of  life." 
I  think  the  Orientalist  will  hardly  hesitate  in  naming  the  palm-tree, 
especially  the  date-palm.  The  following,  from  the  pen  of  M.  F. 
Lenormant  in  reference  to  Chaldaea,  bears  directly  upon  the  point 
before  us :  — 

44  It  was  the  palm,  the  tree  that  furnished  the  major  portion  of 
food  to  the  inhabitants,  and  from  whose  fruit  a  fermented  and 
exhilarating  beverage  was  derived,  the  tree  to  which  they  attributed, 
in  a  song  mentioned  by  Strabo,  as  many  blessings  as  there  are  days 
in  the  year  ;  —  it  was  the  palm,  we  say,  which  was  regarded  in  this 
country  as  the  sacred  tree,  the  tree  of  life."  1 

In  another  treatise,  the  same  author  speaks  of  Arabia  :  u  I  have 
shown  from  the  testimony  of  the  monuments  that  the  palm  was  the 
tree  of  life,  the  sacred  tree  par  excellence  in  a  portion  of  Chaldsea. 
It  was  the  same  in  many  localities  of  Arabia ;  this  was  the  tree  to 
which  they  devoted  most  frequently  their  adoration."  2  But  that 
which  tends  to  exclude  all  doubt  in  reference  to  the  point  in  ques- 
tion is  the  statement  of  Professors  Roediger  and  Pott,  in  the  criti- 
cal paper  cited  below.  They  say  :  44  A  branch  of  the  palm  served 
as  a  symbolical  designation  of  the  year,  in  the  Egyptian  hiero- 
glyphic writing,  because  the  palm  engenders  each  month,  or  twelve 
times  during  the  year."  3  It  is  a  characteristic  of  this  celebrated 
tree  that  it  throws  out  new  blossoms  every  few  weeks,  so  that  it  is 
not  unusual  to  behold  ripe  fruit  and  new  blossoms  at  one  and  the 
same  time.  I  had  hesitated  to  consider  the  statement  of  Professors 
Roediger  and  Pott  as  wholly  reliable,  having  been  made  at  a  time 
when  the  facts  were  not  so  well  known  as  at  the  present  day.  But 
all  doubt  is  removed  by  an  Assyrian  cylinder,  from  which  a  cut  is 
given  in  a  work  just  published  by  Mr.  George  Smith,  entitled  u  The 
Chaldsean  Account  of  Genesis."  The  scene  represented  is  the  bat- 
tle between  Bel  and  the  Dragon  (p.  99),  having  a  cosmicd  import, 
but  at  the  same  time  a  reference  to  the  calendar.  On  either  hand 
is  shown  a  palm-tree,  each  having  six  branches  of  fruit,  three  on 
one  side  and  three  on  the  other  side  of  the  trunk,  suspended  from 

1  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  330.  2  Lettres  Axgyriologiqucs,  ii.  p.  104. 

8  Kurdische  Studien,  von  E.  Roediger  u.  A.  F.  Pott;  Zeitschnfl  fur  die  Kunde 
des  Moryenlandes,  von  Chr.  Lassen,  B.  vii.  H.  1,  Bonn,  1846,  pp.  104,  105. 


CUSH1TE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  47 

beneath  the  outspreading  branches.  Here,  then,  are  the  twelve- 
fruit-harvests  literally  represented  to  the  eye.  A  much  superior 
engraving  from  this  cylinder  was  published  many  years  since  by  M. 
F.  Lajard,  but  the  twelve  bunches  of  fruit  are  not  quite  so  fully  repre- 
sented.1 That  this  cylinder  had  a  cosmical  import  is  shown  from 
the  facts  developed  by  Mr.  Smith,  and  its  reference  to  the  calendar 
is  proved,  not  only  by  the  twelve  fruits  of  the  palm,  a  recognized 
symbol  of  the  year,  but  by  the  crescent  exhibited  in  the  field,  with 
the  three  projections  from  the  outer  surface,  denoting  obviously  the 
three  phases  of  the  moon.  The  demonstration,  therefore,  is  com- 
plete ;  the  palm  considered  as  a  sacred  tree  answers  precisely  to 
the  Biblical  description  of  the  tree  of  life.  If  it  was  not  regarded 
by  the  sacred  writers  as  the  tree  of  life  itself,  there  can  be  no  ques- 
tion that  it  had  been  selected  as  a  type  of  it. 

SEC.  22.  Jn  connection  with  the  palm,  whose  monthly  harvests 
not  only  yielded  an  abundance  of  food,  but  from  which  also  a  fer- 
mented beverage  was  manufactured,  it  seems  proper  to  introduce 
here  a  brief  consideration  of  the  cuneiform  Ar,  whose  signification 
of  "  vineyard  "  and  "  palm-tree  "  has  been  already  suggested.  In 
the  New  Syllabaries  (No.  125),  a  second  equation  of  the  Accadian 
Ub,  "  region  "  (Rep.  266),  has  Ar  in  the  first  column,  and  Karmu 
in  the  third,  or  Assyrian  column.  As  for  Karmu,  it  is  assimilated 
by  Dr.  Delitzsch  to  the  Hebrew  Kerem  (DHS),  ua  park  of  noble 
plants,  a  garden,"  especially  a  "  wine-garden,  or  vineyard."  2  The 
connection  of  Karmu,  in  the  sense  of  "  vineyard,"  with  the  Accadian 
Ub,  "  region,  cardinal  point,"  is  perfectly  natural,  since  the  vine- 
yards of  antiquity  were  considered  as  a  species  of  templum,  being 
laid  out  with  especial  reference  to  the  cardinal  regions.  But  the 
primitive  application  of  the  word  Karmu,  Hebrew  Kerem,  was 
doubtless  as  a  designation  of  the  palm,  particularly  the  date-palm, 
from  the  fruit  of  which,  instead  of  from  the  grape,  it  is  probable 
that  the  ancients  first  manufactured  wine.  Hr.  Leo  Reinisch  has 
developed  a  class  of  facts  tending  to  establish  the  declaration  just 
made,  from  which  he  draws  the  conclusion  as  follows  :  "  The  most 
ancient  artificial  drink  known  to  our  primitive  ancestors  was  thus 
the  palm-wine  ;  but  subsequently,  when  the  manufacture  of  wine 
from  "the  grape  was  discovered,  the  same  name  was  applied  to  the 

1  Vid.  Culte  de  Venus,  plate  iv.  No.  12. 

2  Assyrische  Studien,  Heft  i.  p.  134. 


48  HAR-MOAD. 


new  product."  1  In  fact,  it  results  from  "the  investigations  of  this 
author,  and  from  those  of  Professors  Roediger  and  Pott,  in  the  place 
already  cited,  that  the  term  Karmu,  as  designating  the  palm,  thence 
put  for  palm-wine  and  vineyard,  and  under  the  various  modified 
forms  of  Kerem,  Kurma,  Karma,  Khorma,  Karm,  etc.,  etc.,  prevailed 
from  Armenia  in  the  north  to  Middle  Africa  in  the  south,  so  that 
the  equation  of  the  Accadian  Ar  to  the  Assyrian  Karmu  seems  a  sat- 
isfactory indication  of  the  senses  which  I  have  attached  to  it.  It  is 
probable  that  it  designated  a  watch-tower  also,  the  ancient  vineyards 
being  provided  with  such  structures  from  which  to  guard  the  pro- 
ducts from  depredations.  As  before  stated,  Ar  is  a  composite  sign, 
consisting  of  Si,  "eye,"  and  Hi,  "  column."  Thus,  just  as  Si+e, 
eye  +  temple  or  tower,  means  "astronomical  observation,  observa- 
tory "  (Rep.  363)  ;  so  Si-ri^  forming  the  character  Ar,  might  well 
be  put  for  "  the  watch-tower  of  a  vineyard,"  although  it  appears  pri- 
marily to  have  designated  the  tree  from  which  the  products  of  the 
garden  were  derived.  It  is  worthy  of  note  in  this  connection  that 
the  Mosaic  account  of  Noah's  "  vineyard  "  has  the  Hebrew  Kerem 
in  the  original,  leading  to  the  conjecture,  at  least,  that  it  was  not  a 
grape-garden,  but  a  palm-garden,  which  was  planted  by  Noah  after 
leaving  the  Ark. 

We  have  seen  that  the  tree  of  life  was  regarded  preeminently  as 
a  food-tree,  and  it  was  for  this  reason  that  other  fruit-bearing  trees, 
especially  the  oak,  certain  species  of  which  afforded  an  esculent  pro- 
duct, came  to  be  considered  sacred,  and  were  held  in  great  venera- 
tion. It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  term  most  frequently  denot- 
ing the  oak,  as  it  appears  under  various  forms  in  the  Aryan  lan- 
guages, was  derived  from  the  same  original  theme,  which  produced 
another  class  of  words  relating  to  the  process  of  eating  ;  thus  indi- 
cating a  very  early  association  of  the  conceptions  of  food  and  of 
eating  with  the  oak,  considered  as  a  food-tree.  Probably  it  was 
owing  to  its  usefulness  in  this  respect  that  the  oak  was  venerated  as 
a  sacred  tree  by  so  many  and  so  widely  separated  branches  of  the 
Aryan  race.  But  there  are  other  important  ideas  connected  with 
the  primitive  Aryan  root  just  referred  to,  quite  essential  to  our 
present  researches  ;  and  it  will  be  desirable  to  group  them  together 
with  those  already  noticed,  in  the  natural  order  of  their  develop- 
ment. We  have,  then,  1st.  The  root  Bhag,  "  to  allot,  to  impart, 
1  Einheitl.  Ursprung  d.  Sprachen  d.  Alt.  Welt.,  i.  p.  342,  note. 


CUSHITE  ARCHEOLOGY.  49 

to  apportion,  especially  food  to  be  eaten."  2d.  The  substantive 
form,  masculine,  Bhaga,  or  Baga,  literally  "  the  apportioner,  he 
who  allots,  a  portion  ;  "  then  "  bread-lord,  lord  of  bread  ;  "  and  so 
"  Lord  "  in  general,  "  divinity  ;  "  employed  at  an  early  period  as 
name  of  the  Sun-god.  3d.  From  the  idea  of  abundance  of  food  is 
derived  that  of  "  luck,  good  fortune,  well-being,"  and  thence  the 
"  God  of  fortune,  Lord  of  destiny."  4th.  From  the  notion  of  food 
again  proceeds  the  feminine  form  Bhdga  or  Bdga,  denoting  the 
oak-tree,  considered  especially  as  a  food-tree,  corresponding  to  the 
Latin  Quercus,  Greek  Phegos,  both  derived  originally  from  the 
root  Bhag.  5th.  Those  derived  forms  signifying  "  portion,  portion 
of  food,  meal-time,"  also  "  to  enjoy,  to  eat,"  etc.1 

SEC.  23.  In  the  cuneiform  texts  appertaining  to  the  Achseme- 
nian  period,  Baga  occurs  frequently  as  the  equivalent  of  the  Accadian 
An,  Babylonian  Hu,  that  is  to  say,  as  highest  divinity  like  the  Per- 
sian Ormuzd,  but  at  the  same  time  as  God  in  general.  When 
written  phonetically,  we  usually  find  it  with  the  characters  Ba-ga  ; 
but  I  have  noticed  the  forms  Bak  and  Bak-da  (ba-ak  and  ba-ak-da), 
in  composition  with  other  names.  In  all  these  cases,  it  is.  evident 
that  Baga  represents  a  male  divinity,  although,  the  term  is  often 
applied  to  female  divinities  in  Aryan  mythology.  As  a  female 
divinity,  or  goddess,  Bdga  must  have  been  known  to  the  Chaldaeans 
from  the  earliest  period ;  for  we  have  the  phrase  An  Bagas,  the 
"  Goddess  Bagas,"  in  the  name  of  the  monarch  who  heads  the  list  of 
the  ancient  Chaldaean  kings.  That  is,  the  name  which  was  formerly 
read  Urukh  is  probably,  according  to  M.  Lenormant,  to  be  more 
correctly  read  Lik- Bagas,  or  Lik  An  Bagas.  In  an  inscription  of 
Dun-gi,  son  of  this  ancient  monarch,  as  published  in  the  last  volume 
of  the  "Cuneiform  Inscriptions,"  the  father's  name  is  written 
phonetically  Ba-ga-kit?  The  element  kit  is  obviously  here  a  simple 
adjunct,  the  same  as  in  the  name  Bit-kit,  "Lord  of  the  Abyss,"  ac- 
cording to  which  Ba-ga-kit  would  mean  "  Baga  of  the  Abyss."  We 
have  likewise  the  phrases  Ba-ga-ra  and  Ba-ga-ra-kit,  going  to  show 
that  Baga,  or  Bagas,  is  really  the  true  reading,  and  that  kit  is  merely 
an  adjunct.3  Thus,  if  we  adopt  the  reading  Ba-ga,  justified  by  the 

1  Fick,  Woerterb.  d.  Indog.  SpracJien,  i.  pp.  154,  687.  Cf.  Curtius,  Grundzuge, 
p.  298,  etc. 

3  4th  Rawl.  PI.  35,  No.  2.     Cf.  Lenormant,  Etudes  Accad.,  t.  i.  pt.  3d,  p.  76. 
8  3d  Rawl.  PI.  67,  No.  2,  lines  48,  49  ;  and  4th  Rawl.  PI.  5,  col.  2,  lines  42,46. 


50  HAR-MOAD. 

facts  just  noticed,  its  identity  with  the  Aryan  Baga  seems  quite 
apparent.  The  final  s  results  doubtless  from  the  Accadian  value  of 
khas  (Rep.  2),  the  six-rayed  star  inclosed  in  a  square,  constituting 
the  monogram  for  Bagas  ;  but  it  is  proved  non-essential  by  the 
phonetics  Ba-ga-kit  of  the  inscription  of  Dungi,  already  cited.  The 
six-rayed  star,  having  the  value  of  khas,  "to  strike  violently,  to 
cut,"  etc.,  answers  precisely  in  meaning  and  form  to  the  "  wheel," 
ordinary  mythological  symbol  of  the  Goddess  of  fortune,  or  of 
destiny ;  another  indication  of  the  connection  of  the  Accadian 
Ba-ga  with  the  Persian  Baga,  "  God  of  fortune."  That  An  Bagas 
is  a  female,  divinity,  a  goddess,  appears  from  the  fact  that  the 
same  characters  occur  in  several  texts,  as  the  title  of  such  a  person- 
age.1 

But  we  find  Baga,  evidently  as  a  title  of  divinity,  in  a  connection 
still  more  unexpected  than  that  with  which  we  were  last  occupied. 
According  to  Dr.  D.  Chwolsohn,  the  Haranite  Sabaeans,  living  in 
the  midst  of  a  Semitic  population,  and  evidently  Semites  them- 
selves, celebrated  the  mysteries  of  JShemal,  or  Samael,  in  an  under- 
ground room  like  a  cave,  which  was  termed  by  them  the  "  House  of 
Bogdariten ; "  and  the  initiates  were  called  the  "  Sons  of  Bogdari- 
ten."  This  name  Bogdariten,  as  the  author  states,  proceeds  from 
Bogdariun,  plural  of  Bog-dar,  in  which  the  Slavic  Bog,  one  with 
the  Persian  Baga,  appears  at  a  glance.  Among  the  ceremonies  of 
these  mystics  was  that  in  which  they  partook  of  bread  prepared  in 
the  manner  of  the  shepherds;  another  in  which  they  partook  of 
food  and  wine ;  and  still  another  custom  was  the  preparation  of 
cakes  consisting  of  meal,  kneaded  with  the  boiled  flesh  of  a  male 
child  offered  in  sacrifice  ;  and  these  cakes  served  as  a  mystical  bread 
during  the  entire  year.  The  sanctuary  itself  being  a  cave,  and  the 
custom  of  preparing  a  kind  of  bread  after  the  manner  of  the  shep- 
herds, lead  to  the  conclusion,  as  Professor  Chwolsohn  thinks,  that 
these  mysteries  pertained  to  a  very  early  epoch,  and  were  probably 
founded  on  the  worship  of  the  cave-dwellers  themselves.2  Consider- 

1  2d  Rawl.  PI.  54,  3;  Obs.  lines  17,  18  ;  and  3d  Rawl.  PL  59,  No.  1;  Obs.  1.  25. 
An  Bagas  is  here  put  for  mother  of  En-ki-ga-kit,  or  "  Lord  of  the  region  of  the 
Abyss."  Enkigakit  is  explained  in  other  places  as  the  God  Hea.  Mr.  George 
Smith  has  a  different,  reading  for  the  name  of  this  goddess,  which  is  probably  cor- 
rect. Yet  for  the  Accadian  I  prefer  the  one  here  adopted,  as  it  appears  to  be 
well  supported. 

8  Ssabier  u.  d,  Ssabismus,  ii.  Excursus  to  chap.  ix.  pp.  319-364. 


CUSHITE  ARCHEOLOGY.  51 

ing  the  connection  of  this  sanctuary  with  the  Persian  Baga,  "  Lord 
of  bread,"  together  with  the  mystical  food  prepared  in  the  manner 
stated,  it  is  probable  that  we  should  see  here  a  reference  also  to 
the  oak,  denoted  by  the  term  Baga,  considered  as  a  sacred  tree, 
especially  a  food-tree.  The  God  Shemal,  Hebrew  Semol,  who  con- 
stituted the  central  point  of  these  mysteries,  was  the  great  divinity 
of  the  north,  the  word  Semol  being  an  ancient  Semitic  term  put  for 
the  north,  and  North  Star.  Seven  great  gods  were  associated  with 
Shemal,  probably  the  seven  planets ;  also  seven  genii,  supposed  to 
be  the  seven  stars  of  the  constellation  of  the  northern  Dipper.  In 
relation  to  these  seven  stars,  Shemal  as  polar-star  constituted  the 
Eighth,  calling  to  mind  the  Eighth  Cabiriac  divinity  ;  and  the  high- 
priest,  or  hierophant,  who  presided  over  the  initiations,  was  called 
Kabir,  that  is  to  say,  one  of  the  Cabiri.1 

Like  the  Aryan  Baga,  the  Semitic  ILut  Hebrew  El,  is  closely  con- 
nected with  the  oak-tree.  The  term  El  (bs)  signifies  the  "  Strong 
One,"  thence  put  for  the  Almighty.  According  to  Dr.  Fiirst  (Heb. 
Lex.  sub  voc.),  El  is  equivalent  to  a-yil  (b^S),  also  the  "Strong 
One,"  but  otherwise  denoting  the  "  tall,  strong  tree,"  particularly 
the  oak.  We  read  that  "  Abraham  planted  a  grove  in  Beer-sheba, 
and  called  there  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  (  Yahveti),  the  everlasting 
God  "  (El  olam  ;  Gen.  xxi.  33).  The  original  for  "  grove  "  in  this 
passage  is  Eshel  (bars),  which  is  singular,  though  some  exegetes 
maintain  that  it  has  a  generic  sense,  and  may  properly  denote  a 
"  grove  "  instead  of  a  single  tree.  It  occurs  in  two  passages  only 
besides  this  (1  Sam.  xxii.  6 ;  and  xxxi.  13),  and  in  the  last  the  idea 
of  plurality  is  absolutely  excluded.  In  fact,  it  is  rendered  "tree," 
the  singular,  in  both  instances.  Gesenius,  Rosenmuller,  and  others 
regard  the  Eshel  as  a  Tamarisk ;  but  Professor  Bush  observes  that 
"  Among  the  ancient  versions  some  render  it  by  oak  or  oak-grove, 
and  others,  like  the  English,  simply  a  grove"  (notes  in  loc.~).  But 
the  tamarisk  is  a  species  of  oak,  so  that  the  reference  would  be  much 
the  same  in  either  case.  It  is  far  more  probable,  I  think,  that  Abra- 
ham planted  a  single  tree,  an  oak  or  tamarisk,  calling  there  upon  the 
name  Yahveh,  identified  with  El  as  the  everlasting  God.  This  was 
in  accordance  with  prevailing  custom,  which,  in  the  time  of  Abra- 
ham, had  not  been  perverted  to  idolatrous  purposes. 

SEC.  24.  We  proceed  now  to  the  especial  consideration  of  the 

1  Ibid. 


52  HAR-MOAD. 

character  Mu,  having  the  sense  of  "  to  give,  memorial,  name,  year." 
As  already  stated,  the  Accadian  Mu  is  the  ordinary  Assyrian  mono- 
gram for  Sanat,  "  year."  Thus,  if  the  character  itself  represents 
a  tree,  the  sacred  tree,  and  especially  the  palm,  is  obviously  intended. 
We  have  seen  that  the  palm,  from  the  fact  of  its  engendering  each 
month,  producing  twelve  fruit-harvests  during  the  year,  was  chosen 
as  a  symbol,  and  even  paleographical  symbol,  of  the  year.  While 
the  Egyptians  selected  a  simple  branch  of  the  palm  for  this  purpose, 
the  Accadians  or  Cushites  represented  the  tree  entire,  sufficiently 
contracted,  however,  for  convenience  in  writing.  Do  we  not  have 
here  a  direct  indication,  not  only  that  this  paleographic  symbol  was 
in  use,  as  such,  before  the  separation  of  the  Hamite  race,  but  that 
the  Egyptian  system  of  writing  was  at  first  symbolical?  Be  this  as 
it  may,  the  proof  here  afforded  that  the  hieratic  character  Mu  was 
intended  for  the  sacred  tree  must  be  considered,  I  think,  quite  satis- 
factory. 

The  sign  Mu  occurs  also  in  the  texts  as  the  ordinary  Assyrian 
monogram  for  Sam  or  Sum,  Hebrew  Shem  (r:^'),  "  name ; "  and  it 
may  be  interpreted  as  memorial  name,  since  this  character  attaches 
to  itself  both  these  significations.  Another  fact  not  yet  noticed, 
but  quite  important  in  the  present  connection,  is  that  Mu  is  usually 
employed  in  the  Accadian  as  a  personal  pronoun,  first  person,  sin- 
gular, denoting  thus  the  Person,  the  Ego,  or  the  /  am,  humanly 
speaking ;  and  it  shows  that  the  two  conceptions  of  "  name "  and 
"  person  "  were  intimately  associated.  In  view  of  these  considera- 
tions, and  of  the  fact  that  the  hieratic  form  of  this  paleographic  sign 
evidently  represents  a  bush  or  tree,  it  is  probable  we  should  see  here 
some  relation  to  the  remarkable  circumstance,  which  is  thus  recorded 
in  Scripture :  — 

"  Now  Moses  kept  the  flock  of  Jethro  his  father  in  law,  the  priest  of  Midian  : 
and  he  led  the  flock  to  the  backside  of  the  desert,  and  came  to  the  mountain  of 
God,  even  to  Horeb.  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto  him  in  a  flame 
of  fire  out  of  the  midst  of  a  bush  :  and  he  looked,  and,  behold,  the  bush  burned 
with  fire,  and  the  bush  was  not  consumed."  "And  God  said  unto  Moses,  I  am 
that  I  am:  and  he  said.  Thus  shalt  thou  say  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  I  am  hath 
sent  me  unto  you.  And  God  said  moreover  unto  Moses,  Thus  shalt  thou  say  unto 
the  children  of  Israel,  The  Lord  God  of  your  fathers,  the  God  of  Abraham,  the 
God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob,  hath  sent  me  unto  you  :  this  is  my  name 
for  ever,  and  this  is  my  memorial  unto  all  generations."  (Ex.  iii.  1,  2;  and  14, 
15.) 

The  definite  association  of  the  name  of  God,  the  Divine  Word, 
with  the  sacred  tree,  particularly  the  Fire-tree,  must  have  been  very 


CUSHITE  ARCHEOLOGY.  53 

ancient  and  widely  prevalent.  In  the  primitive  epochs,  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  generate  the  fire,  whether  of  the  hearth  or  of  the  altar, 
by  means  of  the  friction  of  two  pieces  of  wood.  As  the  hearth  was 
the  primitive  altar,  and  its  flame  the  natural  symbol  of  the  hearth- 
divinity,  whose  character  doubtless  constituted  the  basis  of  all  the 
fire-gods  of  antiquity,  this  method  of  generating  fire  naturally 
attached  to  itself  a  peculiar  significance  and  sanctity ;  and  it  was  in 
the  midst  of  the  flames  thus  generated  that  the  Divine  Being  was 
believed  to  manifest  himself  to  man,  and  to  communicate  with  the 
world.  The  two  pieces  of  wood  employed  for  this  purpose  were  called 
Arani  by  the  Aryans.  M.  Le*on  Carre*  cites  two  texts  from  the 
Gathas,  constituting  the  most  ancient  portions  of  the  Zend-Avesta, 
in  which  Sraosha  or  Serosh,  the  personification  of  the  Word  of 
Ormuzd,  and  through  whom  the  Good  Spirit  communicated  to  men, 
is  directly  referred  to  in  connection  with  the  Arani :  — 

"  Thou  didst  command  me  not  to  create,  without  having  first 
received  a  revelation ;  not  till  Craosha  should  come  with  majestic 
truth ;  —  he  who  deigns  to  reveal  the  wisdom  by  means  of  the  two 
pieces  of  wood  destined  to  generate  the  fire."  "  May  the  instructed 
man,  who  thinks  only  of  truth  and  of  the  two  lives,  O  Ahura !  may 
his  language  be  free,  and  may  they  hear  his  words  of  truth,  promul- 
gated by  thy  brilliant  and  beneficent  fire,  produced  by  the  friction 
of  two  pieces  of  wood."  l 

Rev.  Mr.  Rawlinson  has  the  following  in  relation  to  the  general 
attributes  and  office  of  Serosh :  — 

"  Armaiti,  however,  the  genius  of  the  earth,  and  Sraosha  or  Serosh, 
an  angel,  are  very  clearly  and  distinctly  personified.  Sraosha  is 
Ormazd's  messenger.  He  delivers  revelations,  shows  men  the 
paths  of  happiness,  and  brings  them  the  blessings  which  Ormazd 
has  assigned  to  their  share.  Another  of  his  functions  is  to  protect 
the  true  faith.  He  is  called  in  a  very  special  sense,  '  the  friend  of 
Ormazd,'  and  is  employed  by  Ormazd  not  only  to  distribute  his 
gifts,  but  also  to  conduct  to  him  the  souls  of  the  faithful,  when  this 
life  is  over,  and  they  enter  on  the  celestial  scene."  2 

According  to  the  views  of  Professor  Theod.  Benfey,  Baga  was 
conceived  also  as  the  Divine  Word,  and  nearly  allied  to  Serosh.  Re- 

1  L'Ancien  Orient,  ii.  p.  319,  and  note.     The  author  quotes  from  Langlois'  ver- 
sion.    The  second-hand  translation  given  above  is  probably  faulty,  but  that  which 
relates  to  the  connection  of  Serosh  with  the  Arani  is  doubtless  sufficiently  accu- 
rate. 

2  Five  Monarchies,  ii.  pp.  326,  327;  cf.  pp.  336-339. 


54 


HAR-MOAD. 


fening  to  the  Greek  names  Bagarazos  and  Bagaios,  this  writer 
observes :  "  They  appear  to  me  derived  from  the  frequently  occur- 
ring term  Baga,  *  the  Sacred  Word.' '  Upon  the  name  Bigtan,  a 
loan  word  from  the  Persian  occurring  in  the  Bible,  the  same  author 
says :  "  This  appears  to  me  to  be  Baga-tanu,  4  the  Word  having  a 
Body  ; '  in  a  similar  signification  we  have  tanumanthra  applied  to 
the  Ized  Craosha." l 

SEC.  25.  In  connection  with  the  fire-tree,  it  will  be  most  con- 
venient to  introduce  here  some  remarks  relative  to  the  character 
Gi,  signifying  "  flame,  foundation,  to  found,  to  transport,  to  deport, 
to  restore."  In  the  foundation  of  a  new  state,  nothing  was  esteemed 
more  important  by  the  ancients  than  the  transportation  of  the 
sacred  fire  from  the  altar  or  hearth  of  the  parent  state  to  that  of 
the  new  colony.  It  seems  probable  that  there  is  some  reference  to 
this  custom  in  the  notions  of  "flame,  transportation,  foundation," 
etc.,  appertaining  to  the  sign  Gi.  Mr.  Norris  states  the  fact  that 
Gi,  preceded  by  the  determinative  of  divinity,  is  believed  by  Sir  H. 
Rawlinson  to  be  the  Scythic,  or  Accadian  fire-god  ;  and  that  it  is 
sometimes  substituted  for  the  Accadian  characters  Ne  and  Iz-bar, 
ordinarily  put  for  the  fire-god.2  The  sign  Iz,  in  the  name  Iz-bar, 
has  the  meaning  of  "  wood,  tree  "  (Rep.  233)  ;  while  Bar,  among 
others,  has  the  sense  of  "  to  burn  "  (Rep.  69).  All  this  goes  to 
show  that  the  primary  notion  of  flame,  heat,  fire,  and  thence  of  the 
fire-god,  was  intimately  connected  with  the  tree,  from  which  fuel 
was  derived.  The  term  Iz-bar,  "  tree,  to  burn,"  as  name  of  the  fire- 
god,  shows  for  itself  a  primitive  association  with  the  hearth  and  the 
altar,  originally  one  and  the  same  thing ;  but  the  sun,  as  primary 
source  of  all  heat,  was  doubtless  at  a  very  early  period  considered 
as  a  fire-divinity.  A  well-known  title  of  this  god  was  Bar-sam, 
that  is,  "  Bar  by  name"  or  whose  name  is  Bar,  "  to  burn,"  forcibly 
calling  to  mind  the  Name  Yahveh,  proclaimed  from  the  burning 
bush  of  Mount  Horeb.  We  see,  then,  from  the  data  here  estab- 
lished, not  only  the  connection  of  Gi  with  the  sacred  tree,  espe- 
cially considered  as  the  fire-tree,  but  the  definite  association  of  the 
Divine  Name  with  it.  Connected  with  the  facts  having  a  similar 
bearing,  presented  in  the  previous,  section,  it  will  be  difficult  not 
to  admit  the  habitual  association  of  the  Divine  Word  or  Name, 

1  Monatsnamen,  pp.  198,  199  ;  cf.  p.  67. 

2  Assyr.  Die.,  i.  p.  342  ;  Fiirst,  Heb.  Lex.  art. 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  55 

on  the  part  of  the  ancients,  with  the  sacred  tree,  and  especially 
the  fire-tree.  Not  only  this,  but  it  is  evident  that  all  these  notions 
must  be  referred  primitively  to  the  hearth,  the  family  altar,  where 
the  first  flames  were  kindled,  the  first  bread  consecrated,  and  the 
first  offerings  presented  to  God  ;  where,  in  fact,  the  Sacred  Name 
was  first  invoked  by  mortal  man.  But  upon  the  connection  of  the 
Divine  Name  with  the  sacred  tree  in  general,  and  especially  upon 
its  reference  to  the  external  manifestations  of  the  Deity,  consid- 
ered as  his  Other,  his  Face,  that  is  to  say,  his  Feminine  Form,  I 
wish  to  present  some  extracts  from  the  pen  of  M.  De  Vogue, 
which,  although  quite  lengthy,  are  too  important  not  to  appear 
here : — 

u  Like  the  supreme  divinity  of  the  Egyptians,  Baal  was  not  abso- 
lutely distinct  from  created  nature,  at  least  in  the  epochs  of  history 
accessible  to  our  researches ;  as  early  as  we  are  able  to  penetrate 
into  the  annals  of  the  Canaanitish  populations,  we  find  the  worship 
of  Baal  associated  with  certain  trees  and  stones,  considered  as 
abodes  of  the  Divinity  (bswn),  or  Beth-el.  In  other  words,  they 
adored  in  God  the  hidden  spring  of  nature,  the  principle  of  life  that 
animates  the  material." 

"  The  first  formula  that  we  recognize  is  that  so  often  repeated 
in  the  inscriptions  of  Carthage,  in  which  the  goddess  Tanit  is 
called  PTian-Baal  (b37IT"|5).  This  expression  signifies  properly, 
fades,  persona  Baalis,  and  M.  de  Saulcy  has,  very  happily  rendered 
the  first  by  *  Manifestation  of  Baal.'  M.  Z.otenberg  has  demon- 
strated that  it  contains  also  the  idea  of  conjugal  union.  Tanit, 
then,  does  not  differ  essentially  from  Baal ;  this  is,  so  to  speak,  only 
the  subjective  form  of  the  Primal  Deity  ;  a  second  Divine  Person, 
sufficiently  distinct  to  be  associated  conjugally,  yet  no  other  than 
the  Deity  himself  in  his  external  manifestation." 

"  The  second  formula  is  more  explicit ;  Astarte,  the  goddess  of 
Sidon,  associated  with  Baal  of  Sidon  in  the  inscription  of  Eshmuna- 
zar,  is  qualified  as  Sam-Baal  (bm-QJtf),  Nomen  Baalis.  The  abstrac- 
tion is  more  pure  here  than  in  the  preceding  example.  At  Car- 
thage the  goddess  was  a  divine  person  ;  but  here  she  is  only,  so  to 
speak,  a  theological  locution.  This  is  Baal  less  under  another 
aspect  than  under  another  name,  although  the  personality  is 
enough  distinct  for  them  to  be  designated  as  male  and  female  divin- 
ities ;  the  author  of  the  inscription  employs  the  plural ;  he  calls 
them  the  gods  of  the  Sidonians.  Astarte,  then,  is  the  personifica- 
tion of  the  Divine  Name  ;  of  that  Name  to  which  all  the  religions 
of  antiquity  have  attributed  a  mysterious  power.  This  is  as  if 
Sam-Yahveh  (mr^'ntt?)  had  taken  a  body.  Already  in  the  Bible 


56  HAR-MOAD. 

this  expression  is  found  employed  in  an  active  acceptation,  that 
relates  more  to  the  numen  (power)  than  the  nomen  (name)  ;  it  is 
applied  to  the  external  manifestations  of  divine  power.  It  is  by 
virtue  of  the  Sam  (cttf)  that  the  angel  works,  charged  with  commu- 
nications to  men  ;  it  is  the  Sam  also  who  resides  in  the  temple  of 
Jerusalem.  But  while  the  Jews  preserved  the  abstract  value  of 
this  expression,  the  PhoBnicians  had  given  it  a  distinct  existence ; 
they  made  of  it  a  special  divinity  by  an  operation  similar  to  that 
according  to  which  they  deified  the  Face  of  their  God.  One  will 
not  deny,  however,  that  an  analogy  exists  between  the  two  phrases 
Sam-Baal  and  Phan-Baal.  Gesenius  had  traced  the  connection  of 
Sam-Yahveh  with  Phan-Yahveh,  at  an  epoch  when  the  Phoenician 
inscriptions  were  wholly  unknown  or  imperfectly  explained."  1 

The  substantial  accuracy  and  great  value  of  the  views  expressed 
in  the  foregoing  passages  have  been  adverted  to  frequently  by  Eu- 
ropean scholars.  We  see  here  how  the  sacred  name  of  divinity 
gave  rise  to  the  conception  of  a  distinct  goddess,  who  was  adored 
often  under  the  form  of  sacred  trees  or  stones,  with  which  this 
divine  name  was  usually  in  such  cases  associated.  A  striking  ex- 
ample of  this  is  the  term  Semiramis,  a  title  of  the  Assyrian  Venus, 
and  which  Drs.  Movers  and  Gesenius  substantially  agree  in  explain- 
ing as  "  the  most  exalted  name." 2  We  have  seen  that  Abraham 
planted  a  tree  in  Beer-sheba,  calling  there  upon  the  name  Yahveh 
(mrT'CttO,  identified  with  El  as  the  everlasting  God.  The  Patri- 
arch Jacob  likewise,  in  memory  of  his  vision  of  the  mystical  ladder, 
set  up  a  stone,  and  poured  oil  upon  the  top  of  it,  calling  the  name 
of  that  place  Bethel  (bsvvo),  "the  House  of  El "  (Gen.  xxvii.  18, 
19).  We  see  that  these  notions  and  customs  were  universal  at  this 
early  period,  and  it  is  evident  that  it  was  only  much  later  that  they 
became  associated  with  polytheistic  and  idolatrous  conceptions. 
The  Hebrews,  as  correctly  observed  by  M.  De  Vogue,  preserved 
the  abstract  value  of  the  terms  Sam  and  Phan,  applied  to  the  Deity, 
denoting  thereby  the  external  manifestations  of  divine  power ; 
while  the  other  Semitic  races,  for  the  most  part,  gave  to  these  attri- 
butes a  distinct  existence  under  the  form  of  a  goddess  conjugally 
related  to  the  primal  divinity.  As  M.  Zotenberg  has  shown,  these 

1  Melanges  tf  Arch.  Orient,  pp.  52-55.     Cf.  Syrie  Centrale,  p.  53  note,  for  a 
substantial  confirmation  of  the  author's  views. 

2  See   Dr.    K     Schlottmann,  Die  Inschrift  Eschmunazars,  etc.,  pp.  75-79  and 
142-146  ;  Movers,  Phcenizier,  i.  p.  634;  Gesenius,  Heb.  Lex.  art.  rri^""^^- 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  57 

expressions  primarily  involve  the  idea  of  conjugal  union,  and  it 
was  but  natural  that  they  should  give  rise,  sooner  or  later,  to  the 
conception  of  a  female  divinity  more  or  less  distinct  from  the 
primal  Deity.  With  the  Hebrews,  this  dualism  applied  more  to 
the  relations  between  the  divine  and  human,  God  and  the  Church. 

SEC.  26.  Of  the  group  constituting  the  subject  of  our  p-resent 
study,  the  only  remaining  character  is  that  of  Ri,  "to  heap  up, 
column,  to  rise,  appearance  of  a  star."  It  has  been  already  observed 
that  Ri  is  an  ordinary  monogram  for  the  Goddess  Is-tar,  the  Baby- 
lonian Venus ;  and  we  find  this  character  thus  employed  in  its 
hieratic  form  in  the  very  earliest  texts  now  known.  The  conical 
stone  (for  which  was  often  substituted  a  heap  of  stones,  implied  in 
the  sense  of  "  to  heap  up,"  in  other  words,  the  Betyle,  the  Beth-el), 
appertained  to  the  Goddess  Ri,  or  Is-tar,  as  is  now  generally  under- 
stood by  Oriental  scholars.  But  the  Asherah  (rnttfcp,  from  the 
root  Ashar  (-ittfs),  "  to  be  blessed,  to  be  happy,"  to  which  frequent 
reference  is  made  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  was  also  dedicated  to 
Venus,  particularly  as  the  goddess  of  fortune,  proceeding  from  the 
idea  of  happiness,  of  well-being,  expressed  in  the  root  Ashar.  The 
Asherah,  however,  was  usually  made  of  wood,  consisting  of  a  tree 
or  trunk  of  a  tree  artificially  fashioned,  and  thus  briefly  described 
by  Dr.  Gesenius :  "  A  statue,  image,  of  Asherah,  made  of  wood ;  a 
wooden  pillar  of  great  size,  which  on  account  of  its  height  was 
fixed  or  planted  in  the  ground."  "  Of  the  ancient  versions  some 
render  this  word  Astarte,  others  a  wooden  pillar,  others  a  tree  ;  — 
by  which  they  seem  to  have  understood  a  sacred  tree  "  (Heb.  Lex. 
Art.  mttfw).  In  a  list  of  stars  contained  in  an  Assyrian  tablet, 
Venus  is  styled  the  Star  Izlie,  "  the  star  of  fortune,"  as  interpreted 
by  M.  Lenormant  and  Dr.  Oppert.  The  name  Iz-li-e,  since  the  first 
syllable  means  "a  tree,"  shows  that  the  planet  Venus  derives  this 
title  from  some  kind  of  a  sacred  tree ;  and  from  M.  Lenormant's 
transliteration  of  the  term  (boi?),  I  am  persuaded  that  it  should  be 
identified  with  the  Hebrew  Eshel  (bttfs),  "  the  oak  or  tamarisk" 
planted  by  Abraham  at  Beer-sheba.1  This  assimilation  of  Izlie  to 
Eshel,  as  a  species  of  oak,  calls  to  mind  again  the  term.  Bdga,  under 
its  feminine  form,  frequently  applied  to  the  oak ;  and  thus  also  the 
goddess  Bdga,  as  mistress  of  fortune,  the  same  as  Is-tar  or  Venus. 

1  Lettres  Assyriologiques,  ii.  p.  162.     Cf.  3d  Rawl.  PI.  57,  6,  1.  51.     Mr.  Norris 
cites  various  texts  in  which  Izli  occurs  as  a  tree  (Assyr.  Die.,  i.  p.  346). 


58 


HAR-MOAD. 


Another  circle  of  ideas  deserves  a  brief  notice  in  this  connection. 
We  have  seen  that  Baga,  as  title  of  the  lord  of  bread,  thence  as 
god  of  fortune,  ruler  of  destiny,  proceeds  from  the  root  Bhag,  "  to 
allot,  to  award,  to  apportion,"  especially  food  or  bread  to  be  eaten. 
Along  with  Crad  ("rb)  lord  of  fortune,  supposed  to  be  the  planet 
Jupiter,  the  majority  of  the  Semites  of  Western  Asia  adored  a 
female  divinity,  Meni  03E),  mistress  of  fortune,  usually  assimilated 
to  the  planet  Venus.  Now  Meni  is  derived  from  Md-ndh  (r?3E),  "  to 
divide  out,  to  allot,"  involving  thus  the  same  primary  conceptions 
as  the  Aryan  Bhag,  from  which  Baga  is  derived.  There  is  also  the 
obsolete  root  Manan  C|3ft),  having  the  same  sense  of  "  to  allot,  to 
divide  out ; "  and  from  this  comes  the  word  Manna  (Heb.  172),  the 
name  of  the  food  upon  which  the  Israelites  subsisted  in  the  wilder- 
ness. It  is  remarkable  that  the  Manna  of  Arabia  and  other  coun- 
tries of  Western  Asia  is  derived  from  the  tamarisk,  a  species  of  the 
oak-tree.  We  have  here  a  complete,  and  in  every  particular  an  exact 
parallelism,  between  the  Aryan  and  Semitic  conceptions,  proceeding 
primarily  from  roots  signifying  to  allot,  to  apportion,  thence  applied 
to  food  derived  from  the  oak,  and  finally  to  the  idea  of  god  or  god- 
dess of  fortune.  The  manna  is  a  kind  of  gum,  having  a  sweet  taste 
like  honey,  that  exudes  from  the  leaf  or  bark  of  the  tree,  on  being 
punctured  by  a  species  of  insect.  The  Arabians  call  this  the  gift 
or  food  of  heaven.  Many  exegetes  still  maintain  that  the  manna 
upon  which  the  Israelites  subsisted  was  different,  and  was  miracu- 
lously provided.  But  the  fact  that  a  food  in  all  respects  similar, 
and  having  the  same  name,  is  produced  even  to-day  in  the  same 
region  of  country  tends  strongly  in  favor  of  the  naturalistic  view. 

No  additional  facts  are  required  to  establish  the  point  that  the 
Accadian  Ri  represented  originally  a  form  of  the  sacred  tree,  and 
that  it  appertained  definitely  to  the  Asiatic  Venus.  Nor  does  it 
seem  necessary  to  adduce  further  proof  by  way  of  substantiating 
our  general  theory,  not  only  of  the  highly  symbolical  character  of 
the  entire  group  of  signs  forming  the  subject  of  these  studies,  but 
of  their  direct  primary  reference  to  the  sacred  tree.  Nevertheless, 
I  desire  to  cite  one  more  illustration  from  the  art  monuments,  that 
seems  to  embrace  in  one  all  the  conceptions  which  have  been  devel- 
oped thus  far,  relating  to  the  subject  before  us.  I  refer  to  the  eagle- 
headed  man  from  the  Nimrod  sculpture,  represented  in  a  plate 
opposite  page  102  of  Mr.  Smith's  "  Chaldasan  Account  of  Genesis," 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  59 

already  cited  in  these  researches.  These  man-eagles,  so  often  ap- 
pearing upon  the  Assyrian  monuments,  are  the  especial  guardians 
of  the  sacred  tree,  and  correspond  remarkably  with  the  Graruda  of 
the  Hindu  tradition.  Upon  the  sacred  basket  held  in  the  left  hand 
of  the  figure  here  alluded  to,  the  mystical  tree  appears  under  a  form 
more  simple  than  is  usual  to  find  it ;  and  it  admits  of  a  ready  ex- 
planation of  the  symbolism  attached  to  it.  We  have  here  a  plain 
trunk  planted  uprightly  in  the  ground,  like  the  Asherah  described 
to  us  by  Dr.  Gesenius.  From  this  are  seen  twelve  arms  branching 
off  at  right  angles  to  it,  six  upon  one  side  and  six  upon  the  other. 
It  is  plain  that  these  represent  the  calendar,  the  two  halves  of  the 
year,  six  months  in  each.  This  explains  to  us  fully  the  Accadian 
Mu,  Assyrian  Sanat,  "  year."  The  rays  of  light  proceeding  from 
the  top  of  the  column,  intended  for  seven,  or  the  seven  planets,  as 
will  be  seen  by  a  comparison  with  the  other  cuts  of  the  sacred  tree 
given  by  Mr.  Smith,  not  only  confirm  the  notion  of  an  astronomical 
reference,  but  give  us  the  additional  idea  of  flame,  of  the  fire-tree, 
answering  to  the  cuneiform  sign  Gri.  Finally,  the  simple  fact  that 
this  tree  is  guarded  by  the  man-eagle  proves  its  reference  to  the  tree 
of  life,  to  which  corresponds  the  character  Zi,  "  to  live,  life,  soul," 
etc.  An  indirect  relation  to  the  sign  Ar  might  be  traced  through 
its  signification  of  the  palm,  shown  to  have  been  a  recognized  sym- 
bol of  the  calendar. 

SEC.  27.  During  the  investigations  of  the  present  chapter,  the 
materials  have  seemed  constantly  to  multiply  upon  our  hands ;  and 
though  much  of  importance  has  been  excluded,  these  pages  will 
doubtless  appear  to  the  reader  too  much  crowded  with  individual 
facts  and  details ;  and  to  avoid  the  confused  impression  that  might 
otherwise  be  left  upon  the  mind,  it  will  be  necessary  to  recapitulate 
briefly  the  chief  points  upon  which  we  have  been  occupied,  and 
which  we  have  labored  to  establish.  Undoubtedly  the  character  of 
the  Jehovah  of  the  Old  Testament  presents  individual  attributes 
that  closely  resemble  the  fire-gods  of  antiquity.  This  fact  has  been 
frequently  noticed  by  Orientalists,  and  has  been  often  made  the 
subject  of  critical  research.  Dr.  Movers  has  pointed  out  the  an- 
alogy existing  between  Jehovah  considered  as  a  destroying  power 
and  the  Moloch  of  the  Canaanitish  worship.  M.  Obry  has  traced 
the  resemblances  between  the  national  God  of  the  Jews  and  Agni 
of  the  Hindu  religion.  The  data  that  have  been  presented  in  the 


60  HAR-MOAD. 

present  chapter,  relating  to  this  point,  all  tend  to  the  conclusion 
that  these  striking  analogies  are  chiefly  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
primitive  object  of  the  worship  of  mankind  was  unquestionably  the 
divinity  of  the  hearth.  For  the  populations  of  ancient  Italy  and 
Greece,  it  would  be  easy  to  verify  this  last  statement.  It  is  well 
known  that  Agni  of  the  Hindus  was  primitively  a  hearth -god. 
We  have  shown  that  the  Accadian  Ni  was  such,  and  that  this  per- 
sonage was  one  with  Jehovah  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  I  am  con- 
fident that  the  same  general  statement  could  be  shown  to  apply  to 
all  the  cultured  nations  of  antiquity.  Although  conceptions  more 
or  less  distinct,  yet  similar  in  character,  were  applied  to  the  sun  as 
the  ultimate  source  of  all  heat,  I  believe  that  the  fire-god  was  first 
worshiped  at  the  hearth-stones  of  primitive  humanity. 

But  little  doubt  can  be  entertained,  I  think,  that  the  conceptions 
centring  in  the  Aryan  Baga  or  Bdga,  lord  or  mistress  of  bread, 
and  thence  of  fortune  and  destiny,  to  which  those  connected  with 
the  Semitic  Mann  or  Meni  present  in  all  respects  exact  correspon- 
dences, —  but  little  doubt  can  be  entertained,  I  say,  that  all  these 
ideas,  and  the  customs  originating  from  them,  appertained  primi- 
tively to  the  hearth  and  to  the  divinity  of  the  hearth  ;  to  those 
early  stages  of  society  when  the  food-tree  furnished  the  staple  pro- 
ducts for  the  support  of  human  life.  Applied  at  first,  perhaps,  to 
the  master  and  mistress  of  the  house,  as  apportioners  of  food  to  the 
inmates,  they  were  naturally  transferred  to  the  divinity  presiding 
over  the  well-being  and  fortunes  of  the  family,  who  then  became  in 
a  mystical  and  religious  sense  the  apportioner  of  food,  the  lord  of 
bread.  As  it  was  here  that  the  first  covenants  of  salt  were  ratified 
between  God  and  man,  so  here  the  first  allotment  of  bread  was 
shared  between  them,  in  token  of  perpetual  friendship.  The  judi- 
cious remarks  of  Dr.  Cudworth  which  have  been  cited,  relating  to 
the  feast  upon  the  sacrifice  considered  as  a  federal  rite  between 
God  and  man,  receive  here  a  striking  confirmation,  the  origin  of 
such  customs  being  now  clearly  demonstrated.  Their  significance 
as  fundamental  conceptions  of  the  Mosaic  religion  has  been  already 
adverted  to,  and  will  not  fail  to  be  appreciated  by  the  reader. 

As  the  altar  and  the  hearth  were  originally  one,  and  as  the  flames 
had  occasionally  to  be  rekindled  upon  the  hearth,  the  Arani,  or  two 
pieces  of  wood  destined  to  generate  the  fire,  became  thus  a  necessity 
of  every  household,  and  the  veneration  paid  to  the  fire  so  mysteri- 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  61 

ously  produced,  so  appropriate  a  symbol  of  the  Deity  himself,  was 
naturally  transferred  in  a  measure  to  the  fire-tree  from  which  the 
Arani  had  been  derived.  Both  the  tree  that  furnished  the  fuel  for 
the  hearth  and  the  food  for  the  table  would  attach  to  themselves  a 
sacred  character.  They  afforded  the  necessary  sustenance  of  life,  as 
well  as  the  means  of  life's  chief  conveniences  and  comforts.  As  the 
generous  tree  from  whose  branches  they  plucked  their  daily  food 
seemed  so  essential  to  the  continuance  of  mortal  existence,  the 
transference  of  their  ideas  to  the  tree  of  life  par  excellence,  from 
whose  products  the  life  beyond  the  tomb  was  sustained,  was  but 
natural  to  those  with  whom  the  present  and  future  existence 
appeared  to  be  merely  a  continuance,  one  of  the  other,  although 
under  changed  and  improved  circumstances. 

The  veneration  of  certain  trees,  considered  as  abodes  of  divinity, 
was  at  the  first  no  such  vulgar  superstition  as  has  been  supposed  by 
some  modern  writers.  M.  De  Vogue  has  very  correctly  observed 
that,  with  the  men  of  high  antiquity,  God  was  not  conceived  as 
wholly  distinct  from  created  nature.  On  the  contrary,  nature  was 
considered  as  the  Face,  the  Name,  the  external  manifestation  of 
divinity.  As  something  purely  universal  and  abstract,  far  removed 
from  the  work  of  his  own  wisdom  and  power,  the  Deity  was  almost 
wholly  unknown  in  the  first  ages  of  humanity.  The  house  which 
He  had  built  was  also  his  own  habitation.  The  Divine  Mind  was 
everywhere  present  in  the  outward  world,  and  everything  that  had 
life  was  a  symbol  of  God.  The  process  was  therefore  wholly  logi- 
cal and  normal  by  which  a  natural  object,  distinguished  from  the 
mass  by  its  remarkable  characteristics,  or  by  some  consecrating  cer- 
emonies, was  conceived  as  a  dwelling-place  of  God,  who  might  be 
thus  approached  by  his  rational  creature  man,  and  his  Sacred  Name 
invoked.  Things  in  general  were  as  chaos,  as  nonentity,  to  the 
apperceptions  of  the  first  men.  Everything  appeared  to  them  in 
the  concrete.  Nor  was  this  by  any  means  an  incorrect  view.  Mod- 
ern physical  science  demonstrates  to-day  the  great  truth,  announced 
many  years  since  by  Mr.  J.  B.  Stallo  as  an  axiom  of  nature-philos- 
ophy :  "  Life  only  then  appears  when  the  whole  energizes  in  a  part," 
and  the  immortal  Goethe  had  long  before  said:  "If  you  would 
appreciate  the  whole,  you  must  recognize  the  whole  in  the  small- 
est." J  God  is  universal,  infinite,  but  not  as  an  abstraction.  He 
1  Philosophy  of  Nature,  pp.  14  and  15,  note. 


62 


HAR-MOAD. 


alone  is  really  universal  who  is  present  in  his  fullness  in  each  and 
every  particular.  If  the  Infinite  dwells  not  in  this  tree  and  in  this 
stone,  He  is  nowhere.  If  it  is  only  beneath  temple  domes  that  the 
Deity  takes  up  his  abode,  primitive  humanity  was  without  a  God, 
for  then  there  were  no  temples. 

SEC.  28.  But  that  which  many  modern  writers  have  failed  most 
essentially  to  appreciate,  in  the  religious  conceptions  and  customs  of 
high  antiquity,  regards  the  one  great  idea  fundamental  in  all  the 
facts  which  have  been  grouped  together  in  the  present  chapter, 
and  which  has  been  already  insisted  upon,  namely,  that  God 
dwells,  inhabits,  the  same  as  man.  It  is  mind  alone  that  dwells, 
and  it  is  matter  alone  that  constitutes  the  dwelling.  To  conceive 
of  mind  without  a  dwelling  is  to  regard  it  as  an  abstraction  instead 
of  a  reality.  It  is  impossible  for  the  human  soul  to  enter  into  intel- 
ligent, personal  relation  with  the  storm-cloud,  the  whirlwind,  or 
with  empty  space.  If  God  would  communicate  with  man,  it  must 
be  through  the  concrete,  through  the  particular ;  the  Deity  must,  to 
this  end,  subject  himself  to  the  limitations  of  time  and  space,  must 
unite  the  universal  in  the  individual  as  one  ;  —  in  a  word,  God  must 
dwell  somewhere,  the  same  as  man.  This  eternal  law  of  all  mind, 
which  philosophy,  science,  and  speculative  theology  have  now  well- 
nigh  forgotten,  is  that  alone  which  gives  meaning  to  the  phrase, 
"  House  of  God."  Whether  it  be,  therefore,  the  burning  bush  of 
Horeb,  the  oak  of  Beer-sheba,  or  the  unhewn  stone  of  Bethel ; 
whether  it  be  the  temple  on  Mount  Sion,  the  church  of  St.  Peter, 
or  the  humble  chapel  by  the  wayside ;  if  the  Infinite  Mind  be  not 
conceived  as  dwelling  there,  neither  does  the  finite  mind  enter  into 
intelligent,  personal  relation  with  him.  The  same  principle  ap- 
plies with  nearly  equal  force  in  reference  to  the  sacred  name  of 
God.  With  the  ancients,  if  the  Deity  was  not  known  by  his 
personal  name,  He  was  as  a  stranger  to  them.  To  invoke  the 
Divine  One  by  merely  generic  titles  was  to  them  as  if  we  should 
say  Thou  Man  !  or  Thou  Woman  !  to  a  near  and  dear  friend.  As 
already  observed,  to  those  of  the  earlier  ages,  things  in  general 
were  as  chaos,  as  nonentity.  That  which  manifested  itself  in  the 
concrete  was  to  them  the  truly  existent ;  and  it  was  only  under  a 
personal  name  that  they  knew  how  to  commune  with  God.  Practi- 
cally, according  to  their  philosophy,  to  conceive  the  Deity  as  merely 
the  Universal,  the  Infinite,  and  under  terms  having  a  like  general 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  63 

import,  was  to  banish  Him  from  the  human  soul,  from  the  sanctu- 
ary, and  even  from  creation  itself. 

It  is  certain  that  the  divinity  was  not  thus  conceived  in  the  pri- 
mitive worship  of  mankind.  The  Deity  is  not  too  great  to  be  good, 
too  powerful  to  aid  the  weak,  too  infinite  to  exclude  him  from  the 
humble  hearth  where  tried  souls  wrestle  with  adversity.  We 
obtain  a  glimpse  of  the  hard  lot  and  sadness,  as  well  as  the  difficul- 
ties, attending  the  ordinary  life  of  man  in  the  first  ages  of  the  world, 
and  while  as  yet  the  earth  was  unsubdued,  in  the  language  of 
Lamech  at  the  birth  of  Noah :  "  And  he  called  his  name  Noah,  say- 
ing, This  same  shall  comfort  us  concerning  our  work  and  toil  of  our 
hands,  because  of  the  ground  which  the  Lord  hath  cursed  "  (Gen. 
v.  29).  A  comfortable  home,  a  cheerful  blaze  upon  the  hearth,  a 
table  supplied  with  food  for  the  support  of  life,  and  above  all  the 
gift  of  sons  and  daughters  to  love,  were  the  chief  temporal  blessings 
that  Providence  could  bestow  upon  those  with  whom  the  terrible 
calamity  that  had  befallen  the  first  human  pair  was  still  fresh  in 
mind.  But  the  unsettled  state  of  society,  the  increasing  wicked- 
ness of  mankind,  with  even  the  brute  creation  and  rude  elements  of 
nature  to  contend  with,  rendered  everything  precarious  and  uncer- 
tain ;  and  it  was  then,  if  ever,  that  the  rational  creatures  of  God 
needed  his  protection,  and  his  personal,  immediate  presence  with 
them.  The  exiles  from  the  peaceful  bowers  of  Eden  had  not  been 
deserted  by  the  Divine  One  in  whose  mercies  they  still  trusted. 
It  was  now  their  loss  and  not  his  anger  that  He  remembered.  He 
had  created  them  that  He  might  love  them,  and  in  the  midst  of 
their  misfortunes  He  would  mingle  the  tokens  of  his  kindness  with 
the  bitter  fruits  of  their  transgression.  It  was  thus  that  He  became 
a  dweller  in  human  habitations,  and  was  invoked  as  the  God  of  the 
hearth,  as  the  Lord  of  bread.  The  flames  kindled  there,  gener- 
ated from  the  sacred  fire-tree,  and  the  table  which  was  there  spread 
with  the  products  plucked  from  the  sacred  food-tree,  were  the  most 
significant  symbols  of  God's  friendship  for  man,  and  of  man's 
dependence  upon  the  bountiful  Provider.  Humble  indeed  were 
these  first  tabernacles  in  which  the  Infinite  and  Finite  mind  cov- 
enanted together,  and  simple  was  the  repast  in  which  the  Divine 
and  Human  ratified  the  pledges  of  mutual  fidelity.  But  immortal 
destinies  were  being  moulded  there,  and  the  Lord  of  destinies  was 
present  to  superintend  the  process.  The  blaze  kindled  upon  those 


64 


HAR-MOAD. 


hearths  had  been  brought,  not  from  Troy,  but  from  the  sun ;  and 
its  forked  tongues  were  the  tongues  of  prophecy,  proclaiming  the 
results  of  the  divine  economy  on  earth. 

But  time's  noiseless  shuttles  flew  rapidly  to  and  fro  ;  generations, 
like  clouds,  flitted  across  the  mirror  of  life,  and  they  who  had  con- 
secrated the  ancient  hearths  with  their  tears  became  the  progenitors 
of  powerful  tribes,  the  ancestral  heads  of  flourishing  states.  The 
God  of  the  fathers  has  now  become  the  national  divinity,  and  He 
whose  mess  was  once  the  humble  product  of  the  food-tree  receives 
the  united  offerings  of  a  prosperous  commonwealth,  bound  together 
by  the  ties  of  a  common  lineage.  The  traditions,  the  ideas  and 
customs,  associated  with  the  primitive  worship,  may  be  traced  in 
the  solemn  rites  and  imposing  ritual  constituting  the  national  cultus. 
Thus  it  was  that  He  who  had  been  invoked  at  the  hearth-stones 
of  the  Hebrew  patriarchs  was  worshiped  on  Mount  Sion  by  the 
assembled  tribes  of  Israel,  whose  destinies  He  had  wrought  out  amid 
so  many  fiery  ordeals. 

But  the  divine  name  which  had  been  proclaimed  from  the  burn- 
ing bush  of  Horeb  was  yet  to  take  a  body ;  and  the  sacred  tree, 
whose  fruits  were  "  for  meat,  and  the  leaves  thereof  for  medicine," 
was  yet  to  be  transplanted,  not  upon  Mount  Sion,  but  upon  Cal- 
vary, —  "I  am  that  bread  of  life  "  (John  vi.  48).  This,  then,  is  the 
Lord  of  Bread ;  of  that  Bread  gathered  from  a  Food-tree  whose 
fruits  can  never  be  exhausted.  This,  too,  is  now  the  Divinity  of 
the  Hearth  ;  He  who  dwells  to-day  in  the  habitations  of  men. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  CABIEI. 

SEC.  29.  In  the  legend  upon  the  signet  cylinder  of  Lik-Baga$ 
(for  we  prefer  this  reading  to  that  of  Urukli)  who  heads  the  list  of 
ancient  Chaldaean  kings,  so  far  as  known,  this  monarch  assumes  the 
title  of  Pa-te-shi,  an  expression  often  occurring  in  the  cuneiform 
texts,  having  the  sense  of  "  master,  pontiff,  sovereign-pontiff,  or 
priest-king." *  Lik-Bagas  was  literally  a  priest-king,  like  Mel- 
chizedek,  who  was  king  of  Salem,  and  at  the  same  time  a  priest 
of  El-elyon,  or  the  "  Most  High  God"  (Gen.  xiv.  1&).  Abraham 
must  have  recognized  at  once  the  exalted  character  of  Melchizedek, 
for  he  was  born  in  "  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,"  which  was  the  chief  cap- 
ital of  Lik-Bagas,  and  the  order  of  priest-kings  was  well  known  at 
Babylon.  At  the  earliest  period  of  which  the  inscriptions  afford 
us  any  knowledge,  the  country  of  Assyria  also  was  governed  by  sov- 
ereign-pontiffs, or  Pa-te-shi,  though  they  seem  to  have  been  tributary 
to  ChaldaBa  or  Babylon.  The  term  Pa-te-shi,  for  which  Assyrio- 
logues  often  substitute  the  reading  of  Pa-te-si,  must  be  regarded  as 
a  technical  expression,  designating  a  class  of  personages  universally 
recognized,  and  in  whom  the  kingly  and  sacerdotal  characters  were 
united.  Coming  down  to  the  era  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  we  find  that 
this  monarch  applies  to  the  god  Marduk,  the  patron  divinity  of 
Babylon,  the  phrase  Pa-te-shi  tsi-ri  ;  and  Nebuchadnezzar  himself 
frequently  assumes  the  same  title,  from  which  it  appears  that  the 
locution  was  employed  in  reference  equally  to  certain  deities  and 
to  men  in  high  official  stations.2  But  it  is,  I  think,  satisfactorily 
shown,  from  the  critical  investigations  of  Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce  and  M. 
Grivel,  that  the  god  Marduk,  whose  name  very  frequently  appears 

1  1st  Rawl.  PI.  1,  No.  10.     For  the  meaning  of  this  term  consult  Lenormant, 
Etudes  Accadiennes,  t.  i.  pt.  1st,  p.  49,  and  pt.  3d,  p.  77. 

2  1st  Rawl.  PI.  53,  col.  1,  1.  4,  5.     Cf.  Oppert,  Etudes  Assyriennes,  pp.  26,  27. 


66  HAR-MOAD. 

in  the  inscriptions  under  the  Accadian  form  Amer-ud,  was  in  point 
of  fact  no  other  than  the  Biblical  Nimrod,  Cushite  founder  of  the 
primitive  Babylonian  kingdom  ;  although  Mr.  George  Smith,  in  his 
recently  published  work,  objects  to  this  view.1  He  urges  that  the 
god  Marduk  was  regarded  as  creator  of  the  world,  like  the  Baby- 
lonian Bel  or  Belus,  and  could  not  have  been  at  first  merely  a  dei- 
fied mortal.  The  author  forgets,  however,  that  Bel,  as  creator,  and 
Marduk,  as  patron  deity  of  Babylon,  were  originally  two  distinct 
personages,  whose  characters  were  blended  only  at  an  epoch  much 
later,  as  long  since  established  by  Sir  H.  Rawlinson,  and  more 
recently  by  M.  Lenormant.2  The  philological  and  other  evidences 
adduced  by  M.  Grivel  and  Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce  should  be  regarded  as 
conclusive,  as  it  appears  to  me,  until  proofs  of  an  equally  critical 
character  are  discovered,  tending  to  destroy  their  force.  But  to 
return  ;  it  is  obvious  that  the  entire  phrase  Pa-te-shi  tsi-ri  was 
employed  technically,  also,  the  same  as  Pa-te-shi  when  used  alone. 
As  the  latter  designated  the  entire  class  of  sovereign-pontiffs,  the 
former  must  have  been  limited  in  its  application  to  those  of  a  high 
rank.  In  this  sense  it  is  probable  that  we  should  interpret  the  full 
phrase,  when  assumed  by  Nebuchadnezzar  as  his  own  title,  and 
likewise  when  bestowed  upon  the  god  Marduk,  shown  to  have  been 
one  with  Nimrod.  The  connection  of  Nimrod  with  the  temple 
structures  of  Babylon  and  Borsippa,  to  which  the  inscription  of 
Nebuchadnezzar  just  cited  largely  relates,  was  fully  established  in 
the  first  chapter.  It  will  be  interesting,  then,  to  study  briefly  the 
particular  notions  inherent  in  the  two  expressions,  Pa-te-shi  and 
Pa-te-shi  tsi-ri,  assumed  as  official  titles  by  the  ancient  rulers  of  the 
country  of  the  Euphrates. 

We  have  first  the  sign  Pa,  explained  by  M.  Lenormant  as  fol- 
lows :  "  to  anoint,  royal  unction,  power  ;  "  also  Khat  and  Kun,  "  the 
rising  day,  the  dawn  "  (Rep.  234).  Then  follows  Te,  "  foundation, 
base,  duration,"  etc.,  with  the  Assyrian  value  of  "  corner-stone," 
(Rep.  355).  The  third  character  is  Shi,  "  horn,  to  strike  with  the 
horn,  blow,  side  ;  to  accomplish,  to  fill  "  (Rep.  125).  Of  the  term 
Tsi-ri,  the  first  element  has  the  sense  of  "  to  see,  view,  appearance, 

1  Vid.  the  critical  papers  of  Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce  and  M.  Grivel,  in  Trans.  Bib. 
Arch.  So.  London,  ii.  pp.  243-249  ;  and  iii.  pp.  136-144.     See  Mr.  Smith's  objec- 
tions in  Chaldcean  Account  of  Genesis,  p.  180. 

2  Rawl.,  Herod.,  i.  pp.  483,  484,  512,  513.    Lenormant,  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  67. 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  67 

to  rise,  as  a  star  "  (Rep.  195).  The  sign  Ri,  "  column,"  etc.,  is 
already  familiar  to  the  reader.  A  very  frequent  monogram  for  the 
god  Nabu,  assimilated  to  the  planet  Mercury,  being  thus  the  same 
as  the  Egyptian  Thoth  and  the  Greek  Hermes,  was  the  Accadian 
Pa,  designating  him  as  the  patron  of  religious  and  civil  institutions, 
as  he  who  anoints  both  king  and  priest,  bestowing  upon  them  the 
divine  unction  and  power.  The  same  symbol  in  the  sense  of  the 
opening  day,  the  dawn,  refers  to  Mercury  as  morning  star,  as  he 
who  foretells  the  sunrise.  In  this  phase  of  his  character,  Nabu  is 
the  instructor  and  prophet  par  excellence ;  accordingly  one  of  his 
titles  is  Dun-pa-uddu,  "  peaceful  prophet  of  the  rising  sun."  The 
Accadian  Te,  Assyrian  Temin,  is  particularly  employed  with  refer- 
ence to  constructions,  especially  of  a  sacred  character,  as  temples  or 
towers,  and  denotes  the  base,  the  foundation,  the  corner-stone ;  but 
it  is  necessary  always  to  bear  in  mind  that  at  Babylon,  and  gener- 
ally throughout  the  country  of  the  Euphrates,  the  materials  for  such 
structures  were  rather  brick  than  stone  ;  hence  the  language  of  Gen- 
esis :  "  And  they  had  brick  for  stone,  and  slime  had  they  for  mor- 
ter"  (xi.  3).  The  great  tower  at  Babylon  is  termed  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, "  the  temple  of  the  foundation  (Te*)  of  the  earth."1  The 
element  Shi  or  Si  was  highly  symbolical,  the  same  as  the  two 
characters  just  explained.  The  horns  of  the  taurus  and  buffalo 
were  types  of  strength  and  impetuosity ;  then  there  was  the  horn 
of  the  altar,  of  the  ship,  the  crescent ;  finally,  the  horn  of  the  tower 
and  of  the  sacred  mountain.  In  a  hymn  to  Marduk,  the  tower  at 
Babylon  is  termed  the  "  horn  of  the  habitation j"  alluding  to  the 
upper  sanctuary ;  and  in  another  hymn  to  the  great  mountain  of 
Bel,  the  scribe  speaks  of  its  "  horn  as  a  ray  of  the  luminous  sun,  as 
the  star  of  heaven  that  announces  the  day,  completing  its  efful- 
gence." 2  The  mountain  peak  catches  the  first  beams  of  the  sun, 
and  thus  foretells  the  approaching  light,  the  same  as  the  morning 
star.  In  the  term  Tsi-ri  there  is  also  a  latent  symbolism,  since  the 
first  element  relates  to  the  appearance,  rising  of  a  star,  while  Ri, 
"  column,"  also  "  rising  of  a  star,"  has  frequent  reference  to  Venus, 
Babylonian  Is-tar.  All  the  indications,  then,  inherent  in  the  char- 
acters composing  the  two  expressions  being  studied,  seem  to  direct 
the  mind  toward  the  east,  as  the  region  where  the  great  rising  takes 

1  1st  Rawl.  PI.  54,  col.  3,  1.  15. 

2  Vid.  Lenormant,  Premieres  Civilisations,  t.  ii.  pp.  174,175. 


68 


HAR-MOAD. 


place,  from  whence  the  light  approaches  ;  that  region  where  wisdom 
was  first  revealed  and  the  first  foundations  laid.  That  which  com- 
pletes the  view  is  the  fact  that  the  entire  phrase,  Pa-te-shi  tsi-ri  is 
explained  by  Dr.  Schrader  as  "  Sublime  Master."  1 

I  have  already  insisted  upon  the  idea  that  the  expression  here 
referred  to  is  not  simply  laudatory  and  general,  but  technical ;  and 
this  results  not  only  from  what  has  been  before  stated,  but  from  the 
assimilation  of  the  term  Pa-te-shi  by  Dr.  Schrader,  in  the  place  just 
cited,  to  the  Hebrew  Pat-tish  (anas),  "  hammer,"  a  well  known 
symbol  of  the  Cabiri,  whose  mysteries  were  celebrated  throughout 
antiquity.  In  fact,  a  term  denoting  the  "  hammer  "  was  the  name 
of  one  of  the  chief  Cabiriac  divinities.  A  still  further  confirmation 
of  our  view  here,  amounting  almost  to  a  demonstration,  is  found  in 
the  term  Patceci,  habitual  designation  of  the  pigmy  images  of  the 
Cabiri.  Much  doubt  has  existed  as  to  the  true  etymology  of  the 
word  Patceci,  but  Dr.  Movers  is  probably  correct  in  deriving  it  from 
the  Greek  verb  Patasso  (Tra-rao-oV),  "  to  beat,  to  pound,  to  knock," 
from  whence  Patceci,  "  a  hammer."  2  The  sense  of  Patasso,  "  to 
pound,  to  knock,"  answers  precisely  to  that  of  Shi  or  Si,  "  horn,  to 

1  KeilinscJirift.  «.   d.  Alt.  Test.   p.   276.      The   Assyrian   scholar  might  well 
object  to  the  analysis  given  in  the  text  of  the  phrase  Pa-te-shi  tsi-ri,  if  it  is  to  be 
taken  as  a  purely  Semitic  expression.    But  Dr.  Oppert  has  well  observed,  that  it 
is  a  "designation  from  a  source  non- Semitic  "  (Etudes  Assyriennes,  p.  27).      It 
is  evidently  Accadian,  or  Cushite,  in  its  origin,  the  characters  composing  it  being 
employed,  not  merely  phonetically,  but  ideographically.      My  conjecture  is,  that 
Pa-te-shi  especially  appertained  to  the  Cabiriac  craftsmen,  originally  designating 
the  Gavel,  perhaps  made  of  "  horn,"  and  taken  as  symbol  of  the  highest  author- 
ity.    In  such  case,  the  relation  of  this  term  to  the  Hebrew  Pattish,  "  hammer," 
and  to  Patceci,  applied  to  the  Cabiriac  images,  would  be  easily  explained.    I  ven- 
ture to  submit  another  conjecture,  relative  to  the  qualifying  word  Tsi-ri ;  or  Tsi-ru, 
if  it  is  really  to  be  taken  as  Assyrian.     Both  elements  composing  it  refer  among 
other  things  to  the  appearance,  rising  of  a  star,  or  celestial  orb,  in  the  east.    The 
application  of  this  term  to  Nimrod  as  Sublime  Master  finds  its  explanation  in  the 
fact  that  Amer-ud,  name  of  the  god  Marduk,  and  from  which  that  of  Nimrod  is 
derived,  literally  signifies  "the  circle  of  the  sun;  "  thus,  Ud  "  Sun  "-\-Amer  "  to 
go  in  a  circle."      The  meaning  of  "  ridge,  back,"  given  to  this  word  by  Dr. 
Delitzsch  (Assyr.  Studien,  p.  17,  note  2),  might  well  arise  from  the  sun's  ap- 
pearance above  the  mountain  ridges  of  the  east.      The  notion  of  "  sublimity  " 
would  naturally  proceed  from  the  same  phenomenon.      But  the  technical,  and 
even  mystical,  import  of  the  phrase  in  question  is  that  upon  which  I  especially 
insist. 

2  Phcenizier,  i.  p.  653. 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  69 

strike  with  the  horn,  blow,"  etc.  We  assume  without  hesitation, 
then,  the  original  identity  of  the  two  terms  Pa-te-shi  and  Patceci, 
as  denoting  primarily  "  a  hammer,"  and  thence  as  symbolical  desig- 
nation of  the  Cabiri,  the  reputed  sovereign-pontiffs,  or  priest-kings, 
like  those  of  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates.  We  have,  1st.  Their 
exact  phonetical  equivalence  ;  the  reading  Pa-te-si,  often  adopted 
by  cuneiform  scholars,  can  hardly  be  distinguished  from  Pa-tce-ci,  so 
frequently  applied  to  the  Cabiriac  images.  2d.  The  assimilation  of 
Pa-te-shi  by  Dr.  Schrader  to  the  Hebrew  Pat-tish  "  hammer " 
accords  perfectly  with  Dr.  Movers'  derivation  of  Patceci  from  Pa- 
tasso,  denoting  thus  "  a  hammer."  3d.  Both  terms  were  unques- 
tionably employed  with  reference  to  a  priest-class,  in  whom  the 
civil  and  sacerdotal  functions  were  united.  The  data  thus  briefly 
presented  must  go  far  to  establish  the  conclusion,  not  only  that  the 
priest-kings  of  the  Chaldseo-Assyrian  empire  were  Cabiri,  techni- 
cally so  designated  by  the  term  Pa-te-shi  so  often  applied  to  them, 
but  that  the  chief  builders  of  the  tower  of  Babel,  identified  with 
that  of  Borsippa,  were  also  Cabiri,  among  whom  the  Cushite  hero 
Nimrod,  under  the  title  of  Pa-te-shi  tsi-ri*  was  recognized  as  a  Sub- 
lime Master. 

SEC.  30.  It  will  be  necessary  now  to  call  attention  to  the  third 
group  of  characters,  extending  from  a  to  g,  as  exhibited  in  the  first 
plate.  The  couplet  marked  a  shows  the  Accadian  Tag,  "  to  extend, 
to  dispose  in  layers,  a  layer  of  brick ;  to  prepare,  to  complete  ;  sen- 
tence, augury;"  Tak,  " f ear "  (Rep.  173).  It  will  be  seen  that 
the  hieratic  form  of  the  next  couplet  is  only  a  variant  of  the  one 
just  explained,  and  it  has  actually  the  same  phonetic  power,  Tag, 
signifying  "  a  stone  "  (Rep.  163).  It  is  probable  that  the  same 
original  symbol,  denoting  "  a  stone,"  was  slightly  modified  at  a  sub- 
sequent period,  when  brick  were  substituted  for  stone  in  the  Eu- 
phrates valley,  in  order  to  designate  this  new  material  used  for  the 
same  purpose.  In  the  third  character  we  find  the  two  forms  of  Te, 
Assyrian  Temin,  "foundation,  corner-stone,"  etc.,  as  set  forth  in 
the  previous  section.  The  similarity  in  form  so  apparent  in  these 
three  signs  is  strictly  paralleled  by  the  direct  analogy  existing 
between  the  conceptions  involved  in  them.  The  triplet  marked  d 
and  d'  is  an  important  one,  with  the  value  Ak,  "  to  make,  to  labor, 
to  build,  to  superintend,  to  create  "  (Rep.  91).  Then  follows  the 
composite  sign  e,  whose  value  is  Akka,  "  to  elevate,  to  exalt,  to  sus- 


70 


HAR-MOAD. 


tain,  to  favor,  to  delight  in,"  having  the  Assyrian  reading  Ram  with 
the  same  sense  (Rep.  279).  The  two  sets  of  parallel  lines  marked 
/belong  to  the  Egyptian  system  of  writing,  with  the  phonetic 
power  of  Sesun,  signifying  "  eight ;  "  and  the  couplet  g,  concluding 
the  group,  affords  two  examples  from  the  "  eight  Ruas"  so  called, 
constituting  a  primitive  mode  of  Chinese  writing.  The  forms 
marked /and  g  will  be  more  fully  explained  in  their  proper  connec- 
tion. 

The  Accadian  Tag,  "stone,"  must  have  been  a  very  primitive 
word  for  "  mountain,"  characteristically  the  region  of  stone  ;  and 
this  term  occurs  frequently  in  the  names  of  mountains  in  Central 
Asia,  as,  for  example,  the  Belur-tag.  The  two  forms  Tag  and  Tak 
are  only  variants  of  each  other,  the  sounds  k  and  g  constantly  inter- 
changing in  the  inscriptions.  The  form  Tak  is  obviously  the  pri- 
mary one,  both  being  compound  syllables,  which  may  be  resolved 
into  either  Ta-ka  or*  Ta-ak ;  and  instances  might  be  cited  where 
Tak  is  written  phonetically  according  to  both  methods.  But  Ta-ak 
alone  affords  us  an  intelligent  etymology  of  the  word.  The  ele- 
ment Ak  signifies  "  to  make,  to  build,"  and  Tak  denotes  the  mate- 
rial for  constructions,  whether  brick  or  stone.  The  term  Akka  is 
found  very  frequently  preceded  by  the  determinative  of  locality,  as 
Ki-akka,  place,  exalted ;  that  is,  "  sanctuary,  temple."  For  this 
reason  it  may  be  inferred  that  Ak,  "to  build,"  etc.,  not  only  helps 
to  form  the  word  Tak,  material  for  building,  but  Ki-A.ls.-ka,  the 
building  itself.  According  to  the  opinion  of  M.  Lenormant,  Akka 
forms  the  ground  element  in  the  name  Akkad ;  thus  Akka,  "to  ele- 
vate," and  Akku,  "  very  high,  supreme,"  conduct  to  Akka-d,  "  ele- 
vated, mountainous  country,"  from  which  the  author  infers  that  the 
Akkadi,  or  Accadians,  were  originally  "  mountaineers,  highland- 
ers."  1  As  already  suggested,  the  term  Tag  or  Tak,  the  same  as 
Akkad,  must  have  denoted  primitively  a  mountain,  as  in  the  name 
Belur-£a$r  /  so  that  the  fundamental  relation  of  all  these  words,  with 
the  element  Ak  for  their  common  base,  is  a  matter  in  relation  to 
which  not  much  doubt  can  be  entertained. 

The  sign  Ak  constitutes  another  monogram  for  Nabu,  the  Baby- 
lon Mercury ;  and  its  sense  of  "  to  make,  to  build,  to  create,"  shows 
that,  originally,  Mercury  attached  to  himself  a  definite  cosmical 
character  among  the  Babylonians,  the  same  as  with  the  Egyptians. 
1  Etudes  Accadiennes,  t.  i.  pt.  1st,  p.  39. 


CUSHITE  ARCHEOLOGY.  71 

It  is  necessary  to  connect  with  this  Accadian  or  Cushite  symbol  the 
two  sets  of  parallel  lines  marked  /  and  appertaining  to  the  Egyp- 
tian writing.  In  an  excellent  and  critical  treatise  on  the  Nornes 
of  Egypt,  Jacques  De  Rouge*  has  the  following  in  reference  to  Her- 
mopolites :  — 

"  The  ancient  nome  was  Un,  chief  place  Sssun,  later  Hermopolis. 
The  term  Sesun  in  the  Egyptian  language  designates  the  numeral 
eight.  This  number  relates  to  the  eight  gods  who  assisted  Thoth 
(Mercury)  in  his  character  as  creator  of  the  world.  Thoth,  the  god 
of  intelligence,  the  inventor  of  writing,  compared  by  the  Greeks  to 
Hermes,  had  his  principal  cultus  in  the  city  of  Sesun."  1 

If  now  we  compare  the  Accadian  Ak  with  the  Egyptian  Sesun, 
it  will  be  seen  at  once  that  a  direct  relation  exists  between  them, 
not  only  in  respect  to  the  form  of  the  two  paleographic  symbols, 
but  also  as  regards  the  conceptions  attached  to  them.  First,  and 
with  reference  to  the  form  of  the  two  characters,  the  two  sets  of 
parallel  lines,  four  in  each,  giving  rise  to  the  conception  of  "  eight," 
is  very  prominent  in  both  examples.  In  the  cuneiform  sign,  we 
have  a  middle  equatorial  line,  answering  to  the  primary  division  of 
the  cosmos ;  while  the  same  idea  is  expressed  in  the  Egyptian  char- 
acter by  the  two  distinct  groups  of  lines.  The  cuneiform  symbol  is 
sometimes  constructed  with  four  squares  above  and  four  below  this 
middle  line  ;  showing  that  the  reduplication  of  four  into  eight  is 
fundamental  in  the  conception  of  this  figure,  and  that  it  must  have 
appertained  originally  to  it,  the  same  as  to  the  Sesun  of  the  Egyp- 
tian writing.  Secondly,  and  as  regards  the  notions  attached  to 
these  figures,  both  are  connected  with  the  god  Mercury,  under  the 
various  names  of  Nabu,  Thoth,  Hermes,  etc. ;  and  in  both  cases  the 
notion  of  fabricating,  building,  creating,  is  fundamental.  As  the 
Egyptian  Sesun  definitely  related  to  the  cosmical  character  of  Mer- 
cury, there  can  be  no  doubt  of  a  similar  reference  involved  in  the 
Accadian  Ak,  taken  as  a  monogram  of  this  divinity.  A  compari- 
son of  the  two  symbols  demonstrates,  it  seems  to  me,  not  only  a 
common  origin  of  the  characters  themselves,  but  of  the  ideas  asso- 
ciated with  them. 

With  the  two  figures  just  studied,  it  is  necessary  to  connect  the 
specimens  of  Chinese  writing  marked  g  in  our  group.    It  is  remark- 
able that  the  same  numeral  "eight "  reappears  here,  and  that  the 
1  Monnaies  des  Nomes  de  VEgypte,  p.  25. 


72 


HAR-MOAD. 


fundamental  reference  is  to  the  cosmos,  the  creation  of  the  world. 
The  basis  of  the  Chinese  characters  is  the  continuous  line  denoting 
"  unity,"  and  of  the  broken  line  symbol  of  "  duality  "  as  generated 
from  the  primal  unit.  The  two  then  give  birth  to  four,  and  the 
four  to  eight.  In  the  Yi-king  we  have  the  following  statement  of 
the  cosmical  doctrines  attached  to  these  symbols :  "  The  great  sum- 
mit engenders  the  two  principles  ;  the  two  principles  engendering 
the  four  forms  ;  and  the  four  forms  producing  the  eight  kuas"  l  It 
should  be  remarked  that  the  number  eight  is  not  represented  in  any 
character,  as  in  the  Egyptian  Sesun ;  but  by  eight  distinct  groups 
of  parallel  lines,  variously  arranged,  and  derived  from  the  two  fun- 
damental principles.  But  this  number  is  just  as  prominent,  never- 
theless, and  the  reference  to  the  cosmos  is  undoubted ;  so  that  the 
Accadian  Ak,  Egyptian  Sesun,  and  Chinese  Kuas  exhibit  at  a 
glance  their  direct  relation  to  each  other,  both  in  form  and  in  the 
ideas  attached  to  them.  They  may  be  traced  respectively  to  the 
earliest  historical  period  of  the  populations  employing  them  ;  show- 
ing that  they  were  not  derived  the  one  from  the  other,  but  had  a 
common  origin,  probably  outside  the  countries  occupied  subse- 
quently by  these  nationalities. 

SEC.  31.  From  the  Cushites  of  Chaldsea,  the  Hamites  of  Egypt, 
and  the  Turanians  of  China,  we  pass  to  the  Aryans  of  Central 
Asia,  and  the  races  diverging  from  this  common  centre.  The 
Aryan  radical  Ak,  "  to  penetrate,  to  pierce,  to  enter  with  force,  to 
reach,"  etc.,  constitutes  the  theme  of  a  multitude  of  words  under 
different  forms,  some  of  them  obviously  related  to  our  subject. 
1st.  Akana,  "  stone,  whetstone,"  from  which  is  the  Sanskrit  Asna, 
"stone,  sling-stone,"  together  with  various  other  Aryan  words 
denoting  implements  obviously  made  of  stone,  such  as  the  "  spear, 
javelin,"  or  anything  sharp,  pointed.  2d.  The  forms  Aku,  "  sharp, 
pointed,  summit,  peak,"  evidently  of  a  mountain;  Akra,  "sharp- 
point,"  and  Akri,  "  angle,  corner,"  like  that  of  a  corner-stone. 
3d.  Akman,  "  stone,"  and  "  heaven ; "  the  Sanskrit  form  denotes 
"  a  stone,"  while  that  of  the  Zend  signifies  "  heaven."  To  the 
same  belongs  the  Greek  Akmon  or  Acmon  (a*/xoj/),  "•  father  of  Ura- 
nos  "  (heaven),  also  "  anvil."  The  Greek  Akmon,  "  anvil,"  was 
another  name  applied  to  one  of  the  chief  Cabiri,  to  be  compared 

1  Vid.  Dr.  G.  Schlegel,  Uranographie  Chinoise,  pp.  246-261,  where  the  eight 
Kuas  and  their  reference  to  the  cosmos  are  fully  treated. 


CUSHITE  ARCHEOLOGY.  73 

with  the  Hebrew  Pat-tish,  "  hammer."  4th.  Aktan,  "  eight,"  and 
Aktama,  "  the  eighth  ;  "  to  which  belong  the  Greek  and  Latin 
Okto  and  Octo,  "  eight." l  The  derivation  here  shown  of  the 
Aryan  word  for  the  numeral  *'  eight  "  is  quite  important,  and  it 
merits  a  particular  attention.  From  its  theme  Ak,  "  to  pierce,  to 
penetrate,"  together  with  its  cognates,  such  as  Akana,  "  stone," 
Akra,  "  sharp-point,"  and  Akri,  "  corner,  angle,"  it  is  plain  that  the 
material  object,  constituting  the  basis  of  the  notion  of  "  eight "  in 
this  case,  is  no  other  than  a  stone  with  its  sharp  angles  and  corners. 
But  it  is  necessary  to  conceive  a  definite  and  limited  number  of 
these  angles  or  corners,  corresponding  to  the  numeral  itself.  In  a 
word,  a  dressed  stone  with  eight  corners,  having  thus  a  cubical  or 
oblong  form,  constituted  the  original  symbol  of  the  notion  involved 
in  Aktan,  the  Ayran  numeral  "  eight."  But  I  wish  to  add  here 
another  radical  from  the  same  family  of  tongues,  together  with 
some  of  its  derived  forms.  The  root  Tak,  varied  to  Taks,  signifies 
"  to  hew,  to  make,  to  work,"  etc.  It  is  obvious  that  the  material 
to  be  hewed,  or  wrought  upon,  might  be  either  wood  or  stone-, 
though  the  derivatives  contemplate  for  the  most  part  only  wood 
as  the  material.  1st.  Taksan  or  Takshan,  "  worker  in  wood, 
hewer  of  wood,  carpenter."  2d.  Takstan,  "  maker,  master-work- 
man ;  "  also  Zend  Tashtar  and  Sanskrit  Trashtar,  "  master- work- 
man."2 

I  think  the  most  rigid  linguistic  criticism  ought  to  admit  an 
original  and  direct  relationship  between  the  Aryan  radicals  Ak  and 
Tak  and  the  Accadian  terms  Ak  and  Tak,  together  with  the  derived 
forms  respectively  appertaining  to  them.  The  simple  element  Ak, 
whatever  its  origin,  seems  to  constitute  the  essential  base  of  all. 
We  proceed  to  point  out  briefly  some  of  the  more  obvious  connec- 
tions existing  between  the  two  groups  of  words. 

1st.  We  have  the  name  Tashtar,  varied  to  Trashtar,  the  form 
Takstar  being  primary  to  both,  with  the  signification  of  "  master- 
workman  "  common  to  all.  The  radical  element  is  Tak,  "  to  hew, 
to  make,"  phonetically  identical  with  the  Accadian  Tak,  "  stone," 
in  which  the  syllable  Ak,  "  to  make,  to  build,  to  create,"  is  obvi- 
ously involved.  But  Ak  is  the  monogram  for  the  god  Nabu,  Egyp- 

1  Fick,  Worterb.  de  L  G.  Sprachen,  i.  pp.  4,  5,  7.      Cf.  Curtius,  Grundztige, 
pp.  130,  131. 

2  Fick,  ibid.,  pp.  86,  87.     Curtius,  ibid.,  p.  219. 


HAR-MOAD. 


tian  Thoth,  whose  cosmical  character  has  been  already  established. 
It  is  remarkable  that  Tashter  is  likewise  recognized  as  creator,  or  a 
cosmical  divinity,  in  Aryan  mythology.1  It  is  impossible  not  to 
see  here  a  primitive  connection  between  Tashtar  and  the  Baby- 
lonian and  Egyptian  Mercury  in  the  character  of  worker,  builder, 
creator,  and  especially  of  cosmical  agent. 

2d.  The  Aryan  Aktan,  "eight,"  to  be  compared  with  the  paleo- 
graphic  symbols,  namely,  the  Accadian  Ak,  the  Egyptian  Sesun, 
and  the  Chinese  Kuas,  in  all  of  which  the  notion  of  "  eight "  and  a 
distinct  reference  to  the  work  of  creation  are  to  be  regarded  as  fun- 
damental. We  have  shown  that  the  material  basis  of  the  concep- 
tion of  eight  as  denoted  by  the  term  Aktan,  was  an  eight-cornered 
stone  dressed  in  the  form  of  a  cube ;  significant  type  of  construc- 
tions in  general,  and  especially  of  the  fabrication  of  the  world  by 
the  great  Master-Builder. 

3d.  The  form  Akman,  "  stone,"  symbol  also  of  "  heaven,"  is  of 
especial  importance.  The  corresponding  Greek  form,  Akmon,  con- 
stitutes the  title  of  the  father  of  Uranus,  "  heaven  ;  "  but  it  signi- 
fies likewise  an  "anvil,"  and  is  the  name  of  one  of  the  chief  Cabi- 
riac  divinities.  It  is  a  very  singular  and  seemingly  inexplicable 
circumstance  that  the  same  Aryan  term  should  signify  "  a  stone," 
then  "  heaven,"  then  again  "  an  anvil,"  being  finally  appropriated 
as  the  name  of  a  Cabirus.  Nevertheless,  the  facts  which  we  pro- 
ceed to  notice  in  some  detail  will  tend  not  only  to  explain  these 
apparent  contradictions,  but  to  afford  a  better  stand-point  for  con- 
templating the  various  affiliations  of  ideas  previously  noticed. 

In  the  Phoanician  mythology  the  eighth  son  of  Sydik  is  called 
Eshmun,  whose  name  signifies  the  "  eighth,"  and  he  was  thus  reck- 
oned the  eighth  Cabirus,  in  relation  to  the  other  sons  of  Sydik. 
Eshmun  represented  "  heaven,"  that  is,  the  heaven  of  fixed  stars, 
regarded  as  the  eighth  celestial  region  in  relation  to  the  seven  plan- 
etary spheres,  assimilated  to  the  seven  brothers  of  EsJimun?  It  is 
probable  that  the  Phoenician  EsJimun  and  the  Aryan  Akman,  with 
the  softened  form  Asman,  were  primitively  put  for  the  same  concep- 
tion at  least,  if  they  were  not  the  same  word  ;  and  they  contribute 
much  to  explain  each  other.  EsJimun  represents  "  heaven,"  and 

1  Lenormant,  Frag,  de  Berose,  pp.  177,  278. 

2  Vid.  Movers,  Phcenizier,  i.  pp.   227-236.     Cf.   Lenormant,  Frag,  de  Berose, 
pp.  382,  383. 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  75 

Akman  signifies  "  heaven."  Eshmun  signifies  the  "  eighth,"  being 
put  for  the  eighth  celestial  region,  and  Akman,  since  it  denotes 
"  heaven,"  and  is  radically  akin  to  Aktan,  "  eight,"  evidently  referred 
to  the  same  celestial  region.  Again,  Akman  denotes  a  "  stone,"  as 
well  as  "  heaven,"  in  which  case  it  is  evident  the  stone  is  a 
symbol  of  heaven.  But  a  rough,  unhewn  stone  would  never  be 
taken  as  such  symbol ;  hence,  it  is  almost  necessary  to  conceive  here 
an  eight-cornered  stone,  a  cube.  Finally,  we  know  that  Eshmun 
was  a  title  of  the  eighth  Cabirus,  and  that  the  Greek  Akmon  was 
actually  the  name  of  a  Cabiriac  deity.  It  is  thus  quite  certain 
that  this  Greek  Cabirus  was  the  eighth,  and  that  the  ancient  form 
Akman  had  a  similar  reference.  It  is  impossible  not  to  admit  the 
common  origin  of  these  various  conceptions,  and  their  primary  refer- 
ence to  the  cubical  stone  as  symbol  of  the  eighth  region  of  heaven. 
But  the  Greek  form  means  also  "  an  anvil."  This  may  be  explained 
by  the  fact  that  the  first  anvils  were  meteoric  stones,  or  masses  of 
iron  that  had  fallen  from  heaven.  M.  Lenormant  shows  that  the 
first  workers  in  this  metal  employed  the  meteoric  iron,  and  not  that 
produced  from  ores,  and  that  the  Greek  for  iron,  sideros,  is  related 
to  the  Latin  sidus,  sideris,  "  a  star."  l 

SEC.  02.  We  thus  account  readily,  and  probably  correctly,  for 
the  transfer  of  the  Aryan  Akman,  "  a  stone,"  to  signify  a  meteoric 
stone,  and  thence  "  an  anvil."  But  does  this  prove  that  Akman 
originally  designated  a  meteoric  stone  ?  I  think  not ;  but  this  is 
an  important  inquiry  to  be  now  considered.  In  the  first  place, 
then,  it  is  only  under  the  Greek  form,  and  only  in  the  Greek  lan- 
guage, if  my  impression  is  correct,  that  this  Aryan  term  ever  signi- 
fies "  an  anvil,"  and  this  appears  to  be,  therefore,  the  only  reason 
for  supposing  that  it  denoted,  primarily,  a  meteoric  stone ;  —  a  rea- 
son quite  insufficient.  Secondly,  all  the  analogies  derived  from  its 
root  Ak,  and  its  cognate  terms,  such  as  Akra,  Akri,  especially 
Aktan,  tend  to  the  conclusion  that  the  ordinary  stone  was  origi- 
nally intended.  Finally,  we  are  to  consider  here  that  an  inclosed 
cubical  space,  like  the  stone  dressed  in  this  form,  usually  represents 
heaven  in  ancient  architecture.  The  superior  sanctuary  of  the 
temple  of  Borsippa,  dedicated  to  Mercury,  and  forming  the  eighth 
stage,  was  in  the  form  of  a  cube,  as  represented  in  the  cut  in  Rev. 
Mr.  Rawlinson's  "  New  Version  of  Herodotus  "  (ii.  p.  482).  As  the 
1  Premieres  Civilisations,  i.  pp.  88,  89. 


76 


HAR-MOAD. 


other  stages  symbolized  the  seven  planetary  spheres,  the  superior 
or  eighth  stage  must  be  taken  for  the  eighth  celestial  region,  the 
heaven  of  the  fixed  stars,  corresponding  to  that  to  which  Eshmun 
was  assimilated.  The  Holy  of  Holies  in  the  Hebrew  tabernacle 
was  in  the  form  of  a  cube,  and  was  put  for  the  heaven,  as  will 
appear  in  a  future  study.  The  stone,  therefore,  to  which  the  term 
Akmon  referred  was  evidently  a  dressed  stone  with  eight  angles, 
and  it  is  quite  certain  that  no  meteoric  stone  had  been  given  this 
form,  for  the  purpose  of  serving  as  such  symbol. 

As  Akmon,  put  for  the  "  anvil,"  was  the  name  of  a  Cabirus  whose 
symbol  was  the  anvil,  so  Akman,  denoting  a  dressed  stone,  was  evi- 
dently the  name  of  a  Cabirus  who  had  such  stone  for  his  symbol. 
This  personage  must  have  been  conceived  as  the  stone  par  excel- 
lence. In  both  instances  the  symbol  related  to  the  eighth  celes- 
tial region,  being  that  to  which  the  Phoenician  Eshmun  was 
assimilated,  a  name  which  is  probably  only  a  Semitized  form  of 
Akmon.  The  Cabin  were  evidently  associated  with  this  symbol, 
whether  as  denoting  the  cubical  stone  or  the  anvil  ;  and  it  follows 
that  the  Cabiriac  fraternity  were  originally  workers  in  stone, 
instead  of  in  iron  and  the  metals  generally.  This  is  the  point  to 
which  we  have  wished  to  conduct  the  reader,  by  the  most  rigid 
analysis  of  the  facts  and  ideas  constituting  the  data  before  us.  The 
steps  by  which  we  have  arrived  at  this  result  may  be  re-stated 
briefly  as  follows :  — 

1st.  The  Aryan  term  Akman  designated  primitively  "  a  stone  ;  " 
at  the  same  time,  and  under  its  Greek  form  Akmon,  it  was  appro- 
priated as  a  name  of  one  of  the  Cabiri.  Under  this  Greek  form,  it 
denoted  also  the  anvil,  symbol  of  the  Cabirus  thus  called.  Every- 
thing indicates  that  the  anvil  was  at  first  a  meteoric  stone,  and  it  is 
easy  thus  to  explain  the  transfer  of  the  term  Akman  from  "  a  stone  " 
to  "  an  anvil."  All  depends  now  upon  the  question,  whether 
Akman  designated  primitively  the  meteoric  stone  as  a  symbol  of 
heaven,  or  a  stone  having  the  ordinary  composition  of  this  class  of 
materials  ?  If  the  meteoric  stone  was  the  primitive  conception 
involved  in  the  term,  then  the  Cabiri  were  workers  originally  in 
metals,  the  meteoric  iron  being  one  of  them.  But  the  indications 
are  very  strong,  and  I  presume  it  could  be  fully  demonstrated,  that 
Akman,  "stone,"  meant  primitively  a  stone  of  the  ordinary  com- 
position. 


CUSHITE  ARCHEOLOGY.  77 

2d.  But  a  rough,  unhewn  stone,  being  similar  to  all  others  and 
quite  ordinary,  would  never  be  selected  as  a  symbol  of  heaven  ;  and 
since  the  cube  was  usually  taken  to  represent  the  heaven  of  the 
fixed  stars,  it  is  safe  to  infer  that  a  dressed  stone  having  a  cubical 
form  was  literally  that  which  was  designated  primitively  by  the 
word  Akhian  in  its  double  sense  of  "  stone  "  and  "  heaven."  This 
supposition  fully  explains  the  origin  of  the  notion  of  "  eight,"  evi- 
dently "  eight  corners  or  angles,"  involved  in  the  term  Aktan,  and 
it  would  be  impossible  to  offer  any  other  rational  explanation  of 
such  origin. 

3d.  The  simple  existence  of  a  stone  thus  wrought,  with  which 
were  connected  symbolical  ideas  of  the  nature  already  indicated, 
presupposes  the  existence  also  of  a  regularly  organized  craft  of 
workers  in  stone ;  for  among  laborers  promiscuously  associated  no 
such  ideas  would  be  likely  to  prevail.  This  organized  craft  could 
be  no  other  than  the  Cabiriac  fraternity ;  and  the  evidences  tend 
to  show  that  the  very  term  Akman  was  the  name  of  a  Cabirus. 
Recall  here  the  Greek  form  Acmon,  title  of  a  Cabiriac  divinity, 
and  the  Phoanician  Eshmun,  a  term  obviously  related  to  Akmon  in 
its  softened  form  Asman;  a  word  also  appropriated  as  the  name  of 
the  Cabirus  who  represented  heaven,  the  same  region  otherwise 
denoted  by  the  two  forms  of  the  Aryan  word. 

4th.  We  must  conclude,  then,  that  the  Cabiri  were  originally 
workers  in  stone  ;  that  as  such  exclusively,  they  belonged  to  the 
period  before  the  discovery  of  the  art  of  working  metals,  that  is  to 
say,  to  the  stone  age.  Subsequently,  they  became  workers  in  met- 
als likewise,  when  the  Aryan  word  primitively  denoting  a  dressed 
stone  with  eight  corners  was  transferred  to  a  meteoric  stone  used 
as  an  anvil. 

5th.  But  a  dressed  stone,  with  notions  of  a  symbolical  and  sacred 
character  connected  with  it,  supposes  a  sacred  edifice,  a  temple,  for 
which  it  is  designed  as  material  for  construction.  The  Cabiri 
were  thus  originally  an  organized  temple-craft ;  and  the  symbolical 
conceptions  connected  with  the  material  thus  wrought  and  em- 
ployed by  them  presuppose  the  existence  of  certain  esoteric  ideas 
peculiar  to  their  organization ;  in  a  word,  it  is  necessary  to  admit 
here  the  existence  of  a  Traditional  Doctrine  of  the  Templum. 

SEC.  33.  The  statement  last  made  must  be  considered  as  im- 
mensely important,  if  it  is  to  be  admitted  as  correct.  The  data 


78 


HAR-MOAD. 


upon  which  we  have  proceeded  thus  far  do  not  appertain  to  the 
later  epochs  of  antiquity,  but  to  the  very  earliest  periods,  even  to 
the  night  of  ages,  when  the  light  of  the  most  primitive  civilizations 
known  to  us  was  just  dawning  upon  the  world.  If,  then,  we  show 
the  existence  of  a  regularly  organized  priest-class,  in  whom  the  civil 
and  sacerdotal  functions  were  united ;  if  we  show  that  this  organi- 
zation was  in  fact  a  temple-craft,  including  within  itself  different 
grades  from  the  priest-king,  the  Sublime  Master,  to  the  superin- 
tendent of  constructions,  and  even  the  hewer  of  stone  and  maker 
of  brick ;  if  we  show  finally,  that  certain  esoteric  ideas,  peculiar  to 
this  craft  and  relating  to  constructions  of  a  sacred  character,  had 
been  handed  down,  amounting,  in  fact,  to  a  Traditional  Doctrine  of 
the  Temple  ;  the  importance  of  such  facts  once  fully  verified  cannot 
be  overestimated.  Of  course  it  is  to  be  expected  that  statements 
of  such  a  nature  will  be  received  with  extreme  hesitation ;  and  my 
efforts  will  be  to  place  the  matter  in  the  clearest  possible  light. 

We  have  introduced  already  some  proofs,  of  a  nature  quite  con- 
clusive, that  the  Cabiri,  as  an  organized  priest-class,  were  the  chief 
constructors  of  the  pyramid  of  Borsippa,  usually  identified  by  cune- 
iform scholars  with  the  original  tower  of  Babel.  In  addition  to 
these  proofs,  it  will  be  regarded  as  significant,  if  we  find  that  the 
Cabiriac  worship  was  actually  connected  with  this  very  structure. 
In  his  account  of  the  repairs  of  the  pyramid  of  Borsippa,  which  had 
been  left  in  an  unfinished  state,  Nebuchadnezzar  says  that  he  com- 
pleted it  to  the  top  according  to  the  original  design.  The  restora- 
tion of  it,  as  represented  by  Rev.  G.  Rawlinson,  already  cited  on  this 
point,  shows  seven  stages  retreating  one  upon  the  other,  whose  dif- 
ferent colors  are  interpreted  by  Assyriologues  as  denoting  the  seven 
planets.  Above  all,  constituting  the  eighth  stage,  was  the  sanctu- 
ary of  a  cubical  form,  and  this  was  dedicated  especially  to  Nabu,  or 
Mercury.  The  exact  agreement  in  conception  of  this  eighth  stage, 
representing  obviously  the  heaven  of  the  fixed  stars,  with  the  char- 
acter of  the  Phoenician  Eshmun  assimilated  to  the  eighth  celestial 
region,  has  been  noticed  by  Dr.  Movers  and  M.  Lenormant,  who  see 
here  an  indication  of  the  connection  of  the  Cabiri  with  this  temple 
structure.1  This  conjecture  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  Mercury 
himself,  to  whom  the  superior  sanctuary  was  dedicated,  was  reck- 
oned as  one  of  the  Cabiriac  divinities.  Drs.  Movers  and  Gesenius 
1  Movers,  Phcenizier,  p.  528  ;  Lenormant,  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  388. 


CUSHITE  ARCHEOLOGY.  79 

have  shown  that  Mercury,  or  Hermes,  under  the  names  Cadmilus 
and  Casmilus,  was  included  among  the  Cabiriac  deities  adored  at 
Samothrace,  whose  mysteries  were  so  celebrated  in  antiquity.1  But 
the  indications  are  even  more  positive,  as  we  shall  see :  — 

"  The  pyramidal  temple  of  the  Chaldaeans,"  observes  M.  Le- 
normant,  "  was  as  an  imitation,  an  artificial  reproduction,  of  the 
mythical  '  mountain  of  the  assembly  of  the  stars,'  the  Har-Moad 
of  Isaiah  (xiv.  4—20),  which  sacred  tradition  placed  in  the  north, 
and  of  which  there  is  yet  question  in  the  sacred  books  of  the  Men- 
dseans."  2 

The  author  alludes  here  to  the  diluvian  mountain,  identified  tra- 
ditionally with  the  sacred  mount  of  paradise,  first  abode  of  human- 
ity. It  was  directly  from  this  diluvian  mountain  that  the  founders 
of  Babylon  had  journeyed,  when  they  came  to  the  plains  of  Shinar, 
and  undertook  the  building  of  the  tower  identified  with  that  of 
Borsippa.  Now  this  pyramid  of  Borsippa  was  mystically  called 
Bit-Zida,  "  temple  of  the  right  hand."  It  was  thus,  according  to 
M.  Lenormant  just  cited,  an  artificial  Mount  Ida,  "  mountain  of 
the  hand ; "  and  it  was  with  the  Mount  Idas  of  antiquity  that  the 
Cabiriac  worship  and  mysteries  were  especially  associated.  The 
same  author  describes  minutely  an  ancient  cylinder,  upon  which  a 
pyramid  in  stages  is  represented,  with  a  colossal  hand  erected  upon 
the  upper  stage,  around  which  are  grouped  eight  personages,  obvi- 
ously intended  for  the  eight  Cabiri,  who,  according  to  the  mystical 
idea  involved,  are  born  from  the  hand.  The  author  has  no  doubt 
of  the  reference  of  this  cylinder  to  the  tower  of  Borsippa  ;  and  it 
affords  a  complete  explanation  of  the  phrase  Bit-Zida,  "  temple  of 
the  right  hand,"  applied  to  it."  3 

The  fact,  then,  of  the  primitive  association  of  the  Cabiri  and  the 
Cabiriac  cultus  with  the  pyramid  of  Borsippa,  and  consequently 
with  the  tower  of  Babel  itself,  is  here  clearly  demonstrated.  That 
the  chief  personages  engaged  in  this  construction  were  a  temple- 
craft,  and  that  they  possessed  certain  esoteric  doctrines  relative  to 
the  temple,  is  quite  apparent  from  the  circumstances  now  familiar 
to  us,  and  the  data  already  established  render  it  difficult  to  enter- 
tain serious  doubts  upon  the  matter.  The  seven  stages  are  the 
seven  degrees  of  the  temple,  corresponding  to  the  seven  planetary 

1  Movers,  Pha>n.,  i.  pp.  520-522;  Gesenius,  Mon.  Phcen.,  pp.  404,  405. 

2  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  358.  »  Ibid.,  pp.  381,  382,  385-387. 


80 


HAR-MOAD. 


orbits  ;  and  these  are  expressly  compared  by  M.  Lenormant  and  Dr. 
Movers  to  the  seven  sons  of  Sydik,  whose  Cabiriac  character  is 
well  understood.  Then  the  eighth  stage  or  degree,  answering  to  the 
eighth  celestial  region,  the  heaven  of  the  fixed  stars,  is  not  only 
dedicated  to  Mercury,  one  of  the  Cabiriac  deities,  but  its  direct  con- 
nection with  Eshmun,  the  eighth  son  of  Sydik  and  eighth  Cabirus, 
has  been  already  established.  The  pyramid  itself  is  styled  by 
Nebuchadnezzar  "  the  temple  of  the  seven  lights  of  the  earth  ;  "  a 
phrase  whose  mystical  import,  in  connection  with  the  seven  degrees 
of  the  structure  itself,  is  apparent  at  a  glance.  In  addition  to  these 
facts,  we  should  call  to  mind  here  the  connection  of  Nimrod  with 
this  temple-structure,  to  whom  Nebuchadnezzar  applies  the  phrase 
Pa-te-shi  tsi-ri,  or  "  Sublime  Master ; "  appropriating  often  the 
same  title  himself.  The  technical  application  of  the  term  Pa-te-shi 
to  the  priest-kings  of  Babylon  on  the  one  hand,  and  its  identity 
with  the  word  Patceci  on  the  other,  an  ordinary  designation  of  the 
Cabiriac  images,  are  points  with  which  the  reader  is  already  fami- 
liar. Another  circle  of  conceptions  previously  developed  has  an 
obvious  connection  with  the  subject  matter  now  before  us.  Nabu, 
or  Mercury,  is  a  Cabiriac  divinity,  and  the  eighth  stage  of  this 
tower,  representing  heaven,  is  especially  dedicated  to  him.  One  of 
the  monograms  for  Nabu  is  the  sign  Ak,  "  to  make,  to  build,"  etc., 
whose  relation  to  the  Accadian  Tak,  "  stone ''  or  "  brick  "  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  stone,  whose  relation  also  to  the  Aryan  Ak,  from  which 
are  derived  Akman,  "  stone,  heaven,"  and  Aktan,  "  eight,"  Aktama, 
"  the  eighth,"  are  points  that  have  been  fully  illustrated.  We  see 
here  certain  mystical  ideas,  evidently  originating  in  Central  Asia, 
and  around  the  "  mountain  of  the  assembly  of  the  stars,"  to  which 
M.  Lenormant  alludes  ;  ideas  brought  by  the  Cushite  emigrants  from 
the  east  to  Babylon,  and  these  reembodied  in  an  artificial  moun- 
tain of  degrees,  an  imitation  of  that  from  which  they  had  journeyed. 
These  ideas  have  obvious  reference  to  the  temple  ;  and  they  consti- 
tute a  Traditional  Doctrine  of  the  Templum.  The  various  consid- 
erations that  have  been  presented  leave  no  doubt,  as  it  appears  to 
me,  upon  this  important  point. 

SEC.  34.  Another  proposition  is  to  be  stated  here.  Not  only  had 
there  been  inherited  by  the  Cabiri  a  Traditional  Doctrine  of  the 
Temple,  but  this  Doctrine  had  for  its  basis  their  theory  of  the  Cos- 
mos and  of  the  Creation  of  the  World.  In  the  first  place,  the 


CUSHITE  ARCHEOLOGY.  81 

pyramid  of  Borsippa  was  designedly  and  strikingly  a  representation 
of  the  cosmos,  or  world.  Its  summit,  or  eighth  stage,  was  a  sym- 
bol of  the  heaven  of  the  fixed  stars ;  the  seven  stages  descending 
from  thence  represented  the  seven  planetary  spheres;  while  the 
foundation  was  put  for  the  earth.  In  this  foundation  was  the  sanc- 
tuary of  the  god  Anu,  who  has  the  mystical  title  of  Susru,  "the 
founder ;  "  that  is,  the  founder  par  excellence.  In  artistic  concep- 
tion, then,  this  tower  "  united  the  heavens  and  the  earth,"  just  as 
the  sacred  mountain  of  tradition  was  conceived  to  do,  and  of  which 
it  was  an  imitation.  We  have  here  an  explanation  of  the  really 
double  sense  involved  in  the  singular  expression  of  the  Mosaic 
record  applied  to  this  tower,  "  whose  top  may  reach  unto  heaven  " 
(Gen.  xii.  4).  This  rendering  is  sufficiently  correct,  but  the  refer- 
ence is  probably  to  the  fact  that  this  structure  was  artistically  con- 
ceived to  unite  heaven  and  earth.  An  equally  correct  translation 
adopted  by  some  exegetes  would  be:  "whose  top  may  represent 
the  heaven."  We  have  seen  that  the  superior  sanctuary  in  the 
form  of  a  cube,  constituting  the  eighth  stage,  was  held  especially  to 
represent  the  heaven  of  the  fixed  stars.  But  it  is  hardly  necessary 
to  add  further  illustration,  that  the  tower  of  Borsippa  was  the  mate- 
rial expression  of  certain  traditionary  ideas  in  reference  to  the  tem- 
ple, and  at  the  same  time  relating  to  the  cosmos^  the  creation  of 
the  world. 

Again,  the  Cabiriac  divinities  themselves  were  usually  conceived 
as  engaged  in  the  work  of  creating  the  world.  M.  Lenormant  takes 
particular  notice  of  this  fact.1  As  shown  by  his  monogram  Ak,  "  to 
make,  to  build,  to  create,"  the  Babylonian  Mercury  was  primi- 
tively regarded  a  cosmical  divinity.  The  Egyptian  Mercury,  or 
Thoth,  was  assisted  by  the  eight  gods  in  superintending  the  work 
of  creation.  Thus,  Mercury  was  unquestionably  a  cosmical  agent, 
and  was  at  the  same  time  a  Cabiriac  deity.  The  Aryan  Tashtar 
was  conceived  as  creator,  then  as  master-workman,  and  again  as 
one  of  the  Cabiri.3  These  examples  will  suffice  to  establish  the 
cosmical  character  of  this  circle  of  divine  personages.  We  see, 
therefore,  that  cosmical  doctrines  and  doctrines  of  the  temple  were 
blended  together  ;  the  temple  itself  being  designed  as  an  image  of 
the  cosmos.  The  three  phases  of  character,  as  creative  powers,  as 

1  Frag,  de  Berose,  pp.  382-385. 

2  Lenormant,  Premieres  Civilisations,  t.  i.  pp.  87, 140. 


82  HAR-MOAD. 

priest-kings,  and  as  a  temple-craft,  are  in  reality  so  blended  in  the 
Cabiri  that  it  is  often  difficult  to  distinguish  between  them.  They 
were  preeminently  the  founders  in  every  sense  :  founders  of  the 
world,  of  civil  and  religious  institutions,  and  of  temples  and  sacred 
edifices  generally.  Their  esoteric  doctrines,  traditionally  inherited, 
appertained  alike  to  all  these  subjects.  But  that  which  applies 
equally  to  all,  and  confirms  all,  is  the  number  "  eight,"  obviously 
relating  at  one  time  to  the  cosmos,  then  to  the  temple,  then  again 
to  the  Cabiri,  reappearing  constantly  under  various  and  most  strik- 
ing symbols.  We  have  the  eight  lines  or  squares  in  the  Accadian 
sign  Ak,  in  the  Egyptian  Sesun,  the  Chinese  Kuas  ;  we  have,  too, 
the  eight-cornered  stone,  the  eighth  stage  of  the  temple,  inclosing  a 
cubical  space  ;  and  finally  the  eighth  Cabirus,  and  the  eight  gods 
assisting  Thoth  in  the  work  of  creation.  M.  Lenormant  develops 
the  fact  that  an  inclosed  cubical  space  as  the  temple,  and  a  dressed 
stone,  either  square  or  cubical,  as  image  of  the  Deity,  were  tradi- 
tional ideas  among  the  ancient  Arabians,  in  conformity  with  which 
they  constructed  their  sacred  edifices.  The  Chaaba  at  Mecca  was 
of  this  form,  and  the  legends  affirmed  that  it  was  of  heavenly  origin, 
having  been  adored  by  the  angels  even,  being  finally  brought  from 
heaven  to  earth  by  Adam,  the  first  man.  The  celebrated  black 
stone  of  the  Chaaba  was  supposed  also  to  be  of  heavenly  origin. 
Originally  its  color  was  a  pure  white,  but  it  had  turned  black  in 
consequence  of  the  sins  of  mankind.  The  Arabians  were  passion- 
ately fond  of  this  stone.  On  being  restored  to  its  place,  after  hav- 
ing been  at  one  time  taken  away  by  enemies,  the  people  bestowed 
the  most  lavish  affections  upon  it,  caressing  and  kissing  it  even,  and 
condoling  its  dark  color  as  attributable  to  their  own  transgressions 
and  the  sins  of  the  world.1 

Thus,  among  the  populations  the  most  widely  separated  in  anti- 
quity, from  the  Mongolians  of  the  distant  east  to  the  Pelasgic  na- 
tions of  the  west,  and  from  the  Hamites  of  Africa,  the  Cushites  of 
Chaldsea,  to  the  Aryan  races  of  high  Asia,  we  trace  the  existence  of 
certain  traditionary  ideas  pertaining  to  creation  and  the  cosmos, 
to  the  temple  and  to  constructions  of  like  sacred  character ;  ideas 
so  characteristic  in  their  nature  and  in  the  symbols  by  which  they 
were  expressed,  as  to  render  it  impossible,  on  one  hand,  not  to  iden- 
tify them  at  a  glance,  and  on  the  other  hand,  to  account  for  their 
1  Lettres  Assyriologiques,  t.  ii.  pp.  123,  124.  140,  150,  151. 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY. 

singular  resemblances  wherever  found,  either  upon  the  ground  of 
mere  accident,  or  of  natural  and  normal  development ;  ideas,  there- 
fore, whose  community  of  origin  anterior  to  the  existence  of  these 
diverse  nationalities  is  necessary  to  be  supposed  ;  for  we  have  traced 
them  even  beyond  the  historical  period  in  every  instance.  The 
Accadian  Ak  and  Tak,  the  Egyptian  Sesun,  and  the  Chinese  Kuas, 
and  so  the  Aryan  radicals,  Ak  and  Tak,  the  Phoanician  Sydik, 
and  thus  the  various  symbolical  and  legendary  conceptions  con- 
nected with  them,  all  appertain  to  epochs  prior  to  history,  so  that 
the  propagation  of  these  notions  and  symbols  from  one  country  to 
another  at  later  periods  is  entirely  out  of  the  question.  Their  ori- 
gin must  be  assigned,  in  fact,  to  the  first  ages  of  humanity,  and 
from  the  same  primitive  era  must  date  the  existence  of  that  myste- 
rious class  of  personages  through  whom  these  doctrines  were  trans- 
mitted to  subsequent  ages.  These  personages,  whoever  they  were 
and  by  whatever  name  we  call  them,  were  the  founders  of  the 
ancient  civilizations,  the  first  prophets  and  teachers  of  mankind  ; 
they  built  the  first  temples,  they  made  the  first  scientific  discov- 
eries, and  they  were  the  first  inventors  of  the  useful  arts. 

SEC.  35.  We  proceed  now  to  the  consideration  of  the  Cabiri  as 
fire-gods  and  workers  in  metals.  As  such  they  undoubtedly  per- 
tain to  an  immensely  remote  epoch,  for  Tubal-Cain,  who  is  usually 
identified  with  this  class  of  personages,  lived  a  thousand  years 
before  the  deluge,  being  "  an  instructor  of  every  artificer  in  brass 
and  iron  "  (Gen.  iv.  22).  Notwithstanding  this  high  antiquity,  I 
still  maintain  the  hypothesis  that  the  Cabiri  were  originally  work- 
ers in  stone.  Modern  science  establishes  the  fact  that  the  stone  age, 
as  a  distinct  era,  preceded  that  of  metallurgy.  This  accords  per- 
fectly with  our  theory  and  with  the  data  already  introduced  in  this 
discussion.  Everything  indicates,  to  my  mind,  two  distinct  char- 
acteristic phases  in  the  history  of  the  Cabiri,  although  investigators, 
so  far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  have  never  made  this  a  special 
point  of  inquiry.  The  name  Enoch  occurs  twice  in  the  antediluvian 
genealogies  of  Genesis,  the  first  as  applied  to  the  son  of  Cain,  and 
then,  in  the  line  of  Seth,  to  the  son  of  Jared.  The  meaning  of  this 
name  as  often  given  by  exegetes  is  "  the  initiated,"  and  is  derived 
from  the  verbal  root  Khdnak  (TfDn),  "  to  straiten,  to  choke,  to  suf- 
focate," also,  "  to  be  narrow,  strait,  close."  In  relation  to  Enoch 
Dr.  Gesenius  observes :  "  The  later  Jews,  founding  a  conjecture  on 


84 


HAR-MOAD. 


the  etymology  of  the  name,  make  him  out  to  have  been  not  only 
the  most  distinguished  of  the  antediluvian  prophets,  but  also  the 
inventor  of  letters  and  learning,  and  have  forged  in  his  name  a 
spurious  book  (comp.  Jude  v.  12).  These  fables  are  current  also 
among  the  Arabs,  by  whom  he  is  called  Idris,  i.  e.,  "  the  learned  " 
(art.  TpDrj).  There  must  have  been,  in  my  view,  something  more 
than  a  simple  etymology  at  the  foundation  of  the  traditions  to  which 
Dr.  Gesenins  alludes.  Dr.  D.  Chwolsohn  cites  a  large  list  of 
authorities,  tending  to  show  that  Enoch,  or  Idris,  was  considered 
identical  with  Hermes,  was  a  renowned  prophet,  the  founder  of 
states  and  religions,  inventor  of  letters,  author  of  sacred  books,  etc., 
etc.1  The  traditions  to  this  effect  appear  to  have  been  widely  pre- 
valent ;  too  much  so,  in  fact,  to  be  easily  traced  to  the  later  Jews. 
But  even  the  etymology  of  the  word  points  directly  to  Thoth,  or 
Hermes,  whose  recognized  symbol  was  the  serpent.  The  term 
Khanak,  "  to  choke,  to  straiten,"  is  compared  by  Dr.  Gesenius 
himself  to  the  Latin  Angere,  derived  from  the  same  theme  which 
gives  Anguis,  "  serpent."  Dr.  Chwolsohn  alludes  likewise  to  the 
tradition  that  Enoch,  Idris,  identified  with  Hermes,  was  the  father 
of  Tat,  Ssa,  Aschmun,  etc.  (i.  p.  788)  ;  and  the  last  must  be  the 
same  personage  as  the  Phoanician  Eshmun,  whose  symbol  was  also  the 
serpent.  Admit  that,  so  far  as  we  are  now  able  to  trace  them,  these 
traditions  belong  to  later  epochs  ;  yet  there  is  such  a  consistency  in 
them  with  the  religious  ideas  of  Western  Asia  that  it  is  impossible 
not  to  attach  to  them  considerable  force.  The  idea  that  certain 
sacred  writings,  attributed  to  Seth,  or  Enoch,  or  to  both,  were  pre- 
served from  the  destruction  of  the  deluge,  and  transmitted  to  the 
after  world,  has  been  usually  discarded  by  modern  writers ;  but 
such  a  tradition  is  expressly  supported  by  Berosus  in  his  account  of 
the  deluge,  and  it  will  be  shown  in  another  chapter  that  certain 
Babylonian  monarchs  not  only  credited  it,  but  caused  diligent  search 
to  be  made  for  the  corner-stones  of  ancient  temples,  with  which 
copies  of  sacred  writings  were  believed  to  have  been  deposited.  For 
the  rest,  Mr.  George  Smith  recognizes  the  name  Enoch  in  the  in- 
scriptions, under  the  form  Emuk  or  Enuk,  "  wise."  2 

We  have  seen  that  the  Dioscuri  were  reckoned  among  the  Cabi- 
riac  divinities  of  Samothrace.     The  reference  is  to  Castor  and  Pol- 

1  Ssabier,  i.  pp.  787-792. 

2  Chald.  Account  of  Genesis,  p.  296. 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  85 

lux  ;  that  is  to  say,  to  the  zodiacal  constellation  of  Gemini.  These 
personages  have  always  a  mixed  character,  partly  divine  and  partly 
human.  They  were  typically  the  brothers,  and  it  was  on  account  of 
their  fraternal  attachment  that  Neptune  rewarded  them  with  the 
control  of  winds  and  storms,  for  which  reason  they  became  the  pro- 
tector divinities  of  the  sailors.  In  their  chief  character  they  were 
the  powerful  helpers  of  man,  and  thence  termed  Anakes,  from 
Anak,  "  master  of  the  house,  lord,  thence  king."  Their  images 
were  placed  upon  the  prows  of  Phoenician  ships,  and  were  like  the 
Patcesi,  the  term  which  we  have  found  employed  as  general  desig- 
nation of  the  Cabiri,  and  which  has  been  traced  to  the  Hebrew 
Pat-tish,  "  hammer,"  and  finally  to  the  Accadian  Pa-te-shi,  "  mas- 
ter, pontiff,  priest-king,"  etc.  Always  bearing  in  mind  that  at 
Babylon  "  they  had  brick  for  stone,"  we  may  trace  a  direct  connec- 
tion of  Castor  and  Pollux,  or  of  the  constellation  Gemini,  with  con- 
structions in  brick.  The  Accadian  Uku,  "  brick  "  (Rep.  529),  is 
the  monogram  for  the  month  answering  to  Gemini,  denoting  the 
"  month  of  constructions  in  brick."  We  have  thus  another  indica- 
tion of  the  association  of  the  Cabiri  with  the  tower  of  Babel,  and  of 
the  technical  use  of  the  term  Pa-te-shi,  one  with  Patceci,  amongst 
them. 

SEC.  36.  It  is  the  place  here  to  take  note  of  the  fragmentary 
inscriptions  recently  translated  by  Mr.  George  Smith,  and  supposed 
by  him  to  refer  to  the  building  of  the  tower  of  Babel.  Fragmen- 
tary they  are  indeed,  for  hardly  a  single  sentence  appears  entire.1 
Only  the  first  column,  consisting  of  sixteen  lines,  many  of  them 
broken  up,  affords  direct  evidence  of  a  reference  to  the  building  of 
some  sort  of  structure,  probably  a  tower.  The  lines  8-14  are  toler- 
ably perfect,  and  are  thus  rendered :  "  (small)  and  great  he  con- 
founded their  speech.  Their  strong  place  (tower)  all  the  day  they 
founded  ;  to  their  strong  place  in  the  night  entirely  he  made  an 
end.  In  his  anger  also  word  thus  he  poured  out :  (to)  scatter 
abroad  he  set  his  face,  he  gave  this  ?  command,  their  counsel  was 
confused"  (pp.  160,161).  A  reference  to  Babylon  going  imme- 
diately before,  and  still  earlier  to  a  personage  who  "  against  the 
father  of  all  the  gods  was  wicked,"  help  to  fix  the  allusion  to  the 
tower  of  Babel.  Other  expressions  occur  tending  to  the  same  con- 
clusion. Every  one  will  regret  with  Mr.  Smith  that  the  inscrip- 
1  Chaldcean  Account  of  Genesis,  pp.  160-163. 


86  HAR-MOAD. 

tion  is  so  sadly  defaced  and  broken,  and  until  further  discoveries 
are  made  nearly  everything  in  relation  to  it  must  be  considered  as 
conjectural.  Even  its  reference  to  the  tower  of  Babel  is  by  no 
means  certain,  but  it  is  probable  that  such  is  the  case.  Not  having 
kt  The  Egypt  of  Herodotus  "  at  hand,  in  which  Mr.  Kenrick  treats 
more  at  length  upon  the  subject  before  us,  I  place  below  some  quo- 
tations from  an  "  abstract "  of  his  remarks  by  another  author,  who 
notes  especially  the  following  points  :  — 

44  The  existence  of  the  worship  of  the  Cabiri  at  Memphis  under  a 
pigmy  form,  and  its  connection  with  the  worship  of  Vulcan  (Phtha). 
The  coins  of  Thessalonica  also  establish  this  connection  ;  those 
which  bear  the  legend  4  Kabeiros  '  having  a  figure  with  a  hammer 
in  his  hand,  the  pileus  (cap^  symbol  of  freemen)  and  apron  of  Vul- 
can, and  sometimes  an  anvil  near  the  feet."  *'  The  Cabiri  belonged 
also  to  the  Phoanician  theology.  The  proofs  are  drawn  from  the 
statements  of  Herodotus.  Also  the  coins  of  Cossyra,  a  Phoenician 
settlement,  exhibit  a  dwarfish  figure  with  the  hammer  and  short 
apron,  and  sometimes  a  radiated  head,  apparently  allusive  to  the 
element  of  fire,  like  the  star  of  the  Dioscuri."  "  The  fable  that  one 
Cabirus  had  been  killed  by  his  brother  or  brothers  was  probably  a 
moral  mythus  representing  the  result  of  the  invention  of  armor." 
44  The  worship  of  the  Cabiri  furnishes  the  key  to  the  wanderings 
of  ^neas,  the  foundation  of  Rome,  and  the  war  of  Troy  itself,  as 
well  as  the  Argonautic  expedition.  Samothrace  and  the  Troad 
were  so  closely  connected  in  this  worship  that  it  is  difficult  to  judge 
in  which  of  the  two  it  originated,  and  the  gods  of  Lavinium,  the 
supposed  colony  from  Troy,  were  Samothracians.  Also  the  Palla- 
dium, a  pigmy  image,  was  connected  at  once  with  ^iEneas  and  the 
Troad,  with  Rome,  Vesta,  and  the  Penates,  and  the  religious  belief 
and  traditions  of  several  towns  in  the  south  of  Italy.  Mr.  Kenrick 
also  recognizes  a  mythical  personage  in  ^Eneas,  whose  attributes 
were  derived  from  those  of  the  Cabiri."  1 

There  appears  much  disagreement  among  ancient  authors  as  to 
the  exact  number  of  the  Cabiri,  and  I  desire  to  consult  here  one  or 
two  modern  authorities  upon  this  point.  Dr.  Win.  Smith's  notices 
of  the  Dactyli,  identified  with  the  Cabiri,  afford  valuable  informa- 
tion upon  this  and  also  other  matters  :  - 

"  Dactyli,  fabulous  beings,  to  whom  the  discovery  of  iron  and  the 

1  Occult  Sciences,  by  Smedley,  Thompson,  etc.,  pp.  161-163.  Connect  the 
two  relations  of  ^Eneas  to  the  Cabiri,  as  above,  with  the  facts  stated  by  Dr. 
Wm.  Smith,  respecting  the  Penates,  the  augurial  temple,  etc.,  showing  in  this 
way  that  the  Cabiri  were  a  temple-craft  and  the  Roman  augurs  Cabiri. 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  87 

art  of  working  it  by  means  of  fire  was  ascribed.  Their  name,  Dac- 
tyls, that  is,  Fingers,  is  accounted  for  in  various  ways  :  by  their 
number  being  five  or  ten,  or  by  the  fact  of  their  serving  Rhea  just 
as  the  fingers  serve  the  hand,  or  by  the  story  of  their  having  lived 
at  the  foot  of  Mount  Ida  in  Fhrygia  as  the  original  seat  of  the  Dac- 
tyls, whence  they  are  usually  called  Idaean  Dactyls.  In  Phrygia 
they  were  connected  with  the  worship  of  Rhea.  They  are  some- 
times confounded  or  identified  with  the  Cusites,  Corybantes,  Cabiri, 
and  Telchines.  This  confusion  with  the  Cabiri  also  accounts  for 
Samothrace  being  in  some  accounts  described  as  their  residence. 
Other  accounts  transfer  them  to  Mount  Ida  in  Crete,  of  which 
island  they  are  said  to  have  been  the  original  inhabitants.  Their 
number  appears  to  have  been  originally  three  :  Celmis  (the  smelter) 
Damnamenus  (the  hammer),  and  Acmon  (the  anvil).  Their  num- 
ber was  afterwards  increased  to  five,  ten  (five  male  and  five  female), 
fifty-two,  and  one  hundred."  (Class.  Die.,  art.  Dactyli.)  1 

The  connection  of  the  Cabiri  with  the  Mount  Idas  (mountains 
of  the  hand)  of  antiquity  has  been  already  noticed.  Authors 
usually  agree,  also,  that  they  were  the  same  as  the  Cusites,  Cory- 
bantes, and  Telchines.  Their  number  is  thought  to  have  been 
originally  three  by  Dr.  Smith,  and  he  gives  their  names,  among 
which  Acmon  is  familiar  to  us.  For  Celmis,  "  the  smelter,"  I  am 
unable  to  suggest  an  etymology  ;  and  as  for  Damnamenus,  "  the 
hammer,"  it  hardly  merits  one.  The  term  Patceci,  assimilated  to 
the  cuneiform  Pa-te-shi,  and  the  Hebrew  Pat-tish,  "  hammer,"  as 
heretofore  set  forth,  may  be  regarded  as  a  more  original  and  pro- 
bably primitive  designation  of  this  Cabirus.  But  the  number  three, 
in  my  view,  refers  simply  to  the  chief  Cabiri,  and  does  not  include 
the  entire  class.  The  subjoined  remarks  by  Sir  G.  Wilkinson  are 
valuable  as  relating  to  this  question  :  — 

44  Most  authorities  agree  that  they  varied  in  number,  and  that 
their  worship,  which  was  very  ancient  in  Samothrace  and  Phrygia, 
was  carried  to  Greece  from  the  former  by  the  Pelasgi.  Some 
believe  them  to  have  been  Ceres,  Proserpine,  and  Pluto,  and  others 
udd  a  fourth,  supposed  to  be  Hermes,  while  others  suppose  them  to 
have  been  Jupiter,  Pallas,  and  Hermes."  "  The  name  Cabiri  was 
doubtless  derived  from  the  Semitic  word  Kabir,  '  great,'  a  title  ap- 
plied to  Astarte  (Venus),  who  was  also  worshiped  in  Samothrace." 
"  The  eight  great  gods  of  the  Phoenicians,  the  offspring  of  one  great 

%1  Connect  what  Smith  says  of  Ida,  Rhea,  etc.,  with  what  M.  Obry  shows  of 
Ida,  Rhea,  and  also  Dr.  Grill,  as  connected  with  Chaos,  Meru,  etc.,  etc..  and 
cuneif.  Ria. 


88  HAR-MOAD. 

father,  Sydik,  the  '  just,'  were  called  Cabiri,  of  whom  Eshraoun  was 
the  youngest,  or  the  eighth,  as  his  name  imports,  the  Shmoun^ 
4  eight '  of  Coptic,  and  the  theman  or  saman  of  Arabic,  and  she- 
monah  of  Hebrew.  This  Esbmoun  was  also  Asclepius."  "  Herod- 
otus mentions  the  Egyptian  Cabiri  at  Memphis,  whose  temple  no 
one  was  permitted  to  enter  except  the  priest  alone  ;  they  were  said 
to  be  sons  of  Vulcan  or  Phtha,  and,  like  that  god  in  one  of  his  char- 
acters, were  represented  as  pigmy  figures.  It  is  not  impossible  that 
the  Cabiri  in  Egypt  were  figured  as  the  god  Phtha-Sokar-Osiris, 
who  was  a  deity  of  Hades,  and  the  three  names  he  had  agree  with 
the  supposed  number  of  the  Cabiri  of  Samothrace.  The  number 
eight  might  also  be  thought  to  accord  with  that  of  the  eight  great 
gods  of  Egypt.  Ashmounayn,  the  Coptic  and  modern  name  of 
Hermopolis  in  Egy^t,  signifying  the  '  two  eights,'  was  connected 
with  the  title  of  Thoth  or  Hermes,  '  lord  of  the  eight  regions.'  "  l 

It  would  accord  perfectly  with  the  genius  of  ancient  mythologies 
to  suppose  the  existence  of  a  Cabiriac  triad  consisting  of  three 
chief  personages ;  and  that  they  were  often  limited  to  this  number 
considered  as  divinities  cannot  be  doubted.  Nevertheless,  if  we  look 
to  Egypt,  Phoenicia,  and  to  Chaldsea,  evidently  the  more  primitive 
seats  of  the  Cabiriac  worship,  we  find  the  number  eight  almost 
always  connected  with  these  divinities.  There  were  the  eight  gods 
assisting  Thoth  in  the  work  of  creation,  the  eight  sons  of  Sydik, 
and  the  eighth  stage  of  the  tower  of  Borsippa  dedicated  to  Mercury, 
one  of  the  Cabiri.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  this  number  was 
in  some  sense  a  typical  one.  It  was  sometimes,  however,  increased 
to  nine.  The  Phoenician  Sydik,  father  of  the  eight  Cabiri,  was  not 
unfrequently  included  with  them,  being  thus  the  ninth.  So  the 
Egyptian  Thoth,  assisted  by  the  eight  great  gods  in  the  work  of 
creation,  was  himself  a  Cabirus,  and  would  constitute  the  ninth. 
Nevertheless,  as  cosmical  agents,  and  as  denoted  by  their  various 
symbols  already  studied,  it  is  obvious  that  the  numeral  eight  is  to 
be  regarded  as  paramount  in  its  application  to  them.2 

SEC.  37.  The  extracts  introduced  into  the  last  section  are  numer- 
ous and  quite  lengthy,  but  it  is  believed  the  reader  will  see  in  them 
a  value  sufficient  to  entitle  them  to  a  place  in  connection  with  our 
subject.  They  serve  to  complete  the  view  of  the  personages,  and 
of  the  ideas  associated  with  them,  of  which  there  has  been  question, 

1  In  connection  with  PJitJia,  cite   Marcite,  Mother  of  Apis,  and    Maspero  on 
Epistolary  Class  of  Texts,  which  I  have  otherwise  referred  to, 

2  Vid.  Rawl.  Herod,  ii.  p,  82,  note  9. 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  89 

as  well  as  to  substantiate  various  statements  heretofore  made, 
which  had  been  left  for  the  time  being  without  direct  proof.  More 
than  all  else,  I  prefer  to  state  important  facts  in  the  language  of 
some  leading  and  recognized  authority  in  such  matters,  when  it  is 
convenient  to  do  so.  But  the  most  recent  treatment  of  this  subject, 
and  one  thoroughly  scientific  in  its  character,  is  that  of  M.  F.  Le- 
normant,  to  which  reference  has  been  already  made  in  the  foregoing 
pages.  Several  points  are  quite  clearly  brought  out  by  the  author, 
which  have  not  as  yet  received  a  special  notice  in  our  own  re- 
searches. Insisting,  as  we  have  done,  upon  the  extreme  antiquity, 
even  prior  to  all  the  ancient  civilizations  of  which  we  have  any 
knowledge,  to  which  primitively  these  organized  communities, 
workers  in  metals,  appertained,  the  author  proceeds  to  trace  defi- 
nitely their  origin,  ethnologically  and  geographically  considered. 
They  were  in  his  view  Turanians,  and  their  original  seats  were  the 
high  table-lands  of  Central  Asia,  near  the  great  plateau  of  Pamir ; 
the  precise  locality,  according  to  the  traditions  of  the  Aryan  and 
Semitic  races,  which  constituted  the  first  abode  of  humanity.1  It 
was  thus  around  the  common  centre,  from  which  subsequently  the 
various  races  of  men  diverge,  that  the  Cabiriac  fraternities  were 
first  formed  ;  and  in  this  particular  the  Mosaic  allusion  to  Tubal- 
Cain,  in  connection  with  the  art  of  working  metals,  accords  per- 
fectly with  the  results  of  modern  research.  But  M.  Lenormant 
quotes  largely  from  the  previous  investigations  and  writings  of  the 
Baron  D'Eckstein,  whose  name  every  French  scholar  mentions  with 
reverence.  This  great  Orientalist  thus  alludes  to  the  special  char- 
acteristics of  these  ancient  patrons  of  industrial  art :  — 

"  On  one  side  are  the  races  addicted  to  the  magical  cultus  of  the 
gods  of  metallurgy,  and  on  the  other  side  we  find  certain  mystical 
and  secret  corporations,  whose  chiefs  superintend  their  labors,  serv- 
ing as  their  pontiffs  and  sacerdotal  confreres,  traditionally  illus- 
trious. The  Vedas,  the  Zend-Avesta,  the  mythology  of  the  Thra- 
cians,  of  the  Pelasgi,  Celts  and  Germans,  overflow  with  traditional 
notices  of  the  affiliations  of  these  divine  workers,  of  a  doubtful  char- 
acter, but  parallel  to  the  deimones  of  the  ancient  classical  authors. 
Inventors,  instructors,  magicians,  benefactors,  and  malefactors  in 
one,  when  the  memory  of  these  corporations  becomes  effaced,  they 
remain  engraven  upon  the  minds  of  men  as  dreaded  and  unpropi- 
tious  powers."  2 

1  Premieres  Civilisations,  t.  i.  pp.  98-126.  3  Ibid.,  pp.  139,  140. 


90  HAR-MOAD. 

The  nature  of  the  occupation  of  these  ancient  smiths,  the  scenes 
of  their  labors  in  the  deep  mountain  gorges,  or  in  the  bowels  of  the 
earth,  and  everything,  in  fact,  connected  with  their  art,  would  give 
rise  naturally  to  a  thousand  vagaries  and  images  of  a  frightful 
character,  tending  to  associate  them  with  the  regions  of  darkness 
and  wicked  daemons.  Not  only  this,  but  their  superior  knowledge 
and  civilization,  as  compared  with  the  surrounding  nomadic  tribes, 
and  even  with  the  shepherds  and  agriculturists,  rendered  them  an 
object  of  dislike  and  hatred  on  the  part  of  the  populations  surround- 
ing them.  At  a  very  early  period  they  were  driven  out  of  their 
original  seats,  and  the  Baron  D  "Eckstein  states  that  they  were  actu- 
ally persecuted  at  times,  being  often  forced  to  change  their  locali- 
ties. This  author  remarks :  — 

"  There  was  an  end  to  this  primitive  influence  of  the  civilizing 
fraternities,  an  eclipse  of  these  races  of  men  more  advanced  in 
knowledge  than  the  shepherds,  than  the  Aryan  and  Semitic  races 
even ;  and  hate  succeeded  to  the  recollection  of  their  superior  cul- 
ture. Above  all,  the  Aryans  of  Bactria,  and  of  India  distinguished 
themselves  by  their  aversion  for  these  nefarious  corporations,  for 
these  worshipers  of  the  serpent-gods,  for  these  priest-kings,  who 
had  the  flaming  dragon  for  their  emblem ;  this  Azdehak  of  Afghan- 
istan and  the  anti-Iranian  Media ;  this  type  of  the  royalty  of  drag^ 
ons,  of  mythical  Aztahak,  so  termed  by  the  Armenians,  of  Asty- 
ages,  as  styled  by  the  Greeks.  Indeed,  wherever  the  Aryan  deities 
appear,  their  heroes,  priests,  warriors,  shepherds,  and  laborers  all 
carry  defiance  to  the  serpent-gods  and  serpent-men ;  they  combat 
these  robbers,  these  tradesmen,  these  sons  of  the  Chthonian  Hermes, 
god  of  highways,  etc.  ;  they  pursue  them  throughout  the  three 
worlds ;  they  expel  them  from  heaven,  from  the  atmosphere  ;  and 
finally  to  exterminate  them  they  descend  even  into  the  abyss 
below."  ! 

Yet  it  was  from  these  corporations,  so  detested  and  persecuted, 
that  the  Aryans,  especially  of  India,  received  their  first  knowledge 
of  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  it  seems  that  some  of  their  members 
were  even  admitted  into  the  Brahmanic  priesthood.2  The  dragon 
as  an  emblem  of  royalty  was  primitive  among  the  Chinese,  but 
was  probably  derived  from  these  Cabiriac  corporations.  This  will 

1  Vid.  Premieres  Civilisations,  p.  141.     Here  these  corporations  are  connected 
with  Hermes,  Mercury,  or  Cabirus. 

2  Vid.  Ibid.,  p.  100.     Cf.  Lenormant,  Manuel  d'hist.  de  V Orient,  t.  iii.  pp.  432- 
437,  etc. 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  91 

appear  all  the  more  reasonable  when  we  compare  the  circle  of  ideas 
attached  to  the  eight  kuas,  previously  alluded  to,  relating  directly 
to  the  cosmos,  with  the  fact  that  the  dragon  was  also  a  fundamen- 
tal character  in  the  Chinese  cosmogony.  However  this  may  be,  we 
obtain  here  a  glimpse  of  the  varied  fortunes  of  these  first  civilizers 
of  the  world,  of  the  hatred  with  which  they  were  regarded  by  the 
ignorant  populations  surrounding  them,  and  of  the  distorted  rep- 
resentations of  their  character  transmitted  to  the  after-world  by 
those  very  races  who  had  so  profited  by  their  industries,  superior 
culture,  and  civil  and  religious  institutions. 

SEC.  38.  We  return  here  briefly,  upon  the  question  of  the  priority 
of  the  Cabiri  considered  as  a  temple-craft  and  as  workers  in  stone, 
to  those  who  were  the  inventors  of  metallurgy,  constituting  a  kind 
of  metal-craft.  It  is  probable  that  after  the  discovery  of  the  art  of 
working  metals,  the  two  orders,  or  better,  the  two  branches  of  one 
and  the  same  order,  existed  side  by  side,  and  so  continued  even  to  a 
late  epoch.  But  the  temple-craft  was  evidently  the  most  ancient, 
and  was,  so  to  speak,  the  parent  of  the  metal-craft.  We  have  a 
plain  indication  of  this  fact  in  the  later  modification  of  the  charac- 
ters of  some  of  the  Cabiriac  deities,  to  correspond  with  the  new 
occupation  and  the  circle  of  conceptions  connected  with  it.  The 
Aryan  Tashtar  affords  us  here  a  striking  example.  M.  Lenormant, 
in  the  learned  paper  so  often  cited,  thus  alludes  to  this  personage  in 
his  association  with  metallurgy :  "  The  invention  appeared  so  mar- 
velous and  so  beneficent  that  the  popular  imagination  conceived  it 
as  a  gift  of  the  gods.  Thus  the  pretended  inventor  was  usually  the 
mythological  personification  of  fire,  the  natural  agent  of  this  class 
of  labors ;  such  is  the  Trachtri  ( Trashtar)  of  the  Vedas,  the  He- 
phcestos  of  the  Greeks,  the  Vulcan  of  the  Latins."  J  The  etymology 
of  the  name  Tashtar  from  Tak  or  Taks,  "  to  hew,"  from  which 
come  the  substantive  forms  Takstar  and  Tashtar,  "  masterwork- 
man,"  proves  that  this  personage  had  no  connection  originally 
with  metals,  since  the  process  of  "  hewing "  relates  to  wood  and 
stone,  not  to  metallic  substances.  That  Mercury  was  a  Cabiriac 
divinity  has  been  sufficiently  established  ;  and  his  most  frequent 
symbol  was  the  dressed  stone,  either  a  square  or  cube,  known  under 
the  name  of  "  Hermes."  His  connection  with  sacred  edifices,  espe- 
cially temples,  is  also  to  be  considered.  These  facts  show  that  the 
1  Premieres  Citnlisationn,  pp.  86,  87. 


92  HAR-MOAD. 


character  of  Mercury,  as  one  of  the  Cabiri,  appertains  rather  to 
temple-structures  than  to  fabrications  in  metals.  Yet  the  fire-god, 
specially  worshiped  by  the  metallurgists,  is  expressly  assimilated 
to  Mercury  in  some  very  ancient  texts.  Such  assimilation  has  its 
exact  correspondent  in  the  case  of  the  Aryan  Tashtar,  but  it  could 
have  occurred  only  as  a  secondary  and  later  phase  of  Mercury's 
character,  as  a  divinity  appertaining  to  the  temple-craft.  The 
Dioscuri  were  included  among  the  Cabiriac  deities  at  Samothrace. 
The  reference  here  is  to  Castor  and  Pollux,  assimilated  to  the  con- 
stellation Gemini.  The  monogram  for  the  month  answering  to 
Gemini,  in  the  Babylonian  calendar,  is  the  cuneiform  sign  denoting 
a  brick ;  from  whence  is  the  phrase,  "  month  of  the  brick,"  or 
"  month  of  constructions  in  brick,"  applied  to  this  zodiacal  division. 
This  circumstance  plainly  indicates  that,  in  the  Euphrates  valley, 
the  Dioscuri  were  primitively  associated  with  the  temple-craft ; 
and  it  has  been  already  observed  that  they  were  typically  the 
brothers.  These  considerations,  in  addition  to  those  heretofore  pre- 
sented, must  be  regarded  as  conclusive,  I  think,  that  the  Cabiri 
were  originally  workers  in  stone,  perhaps  in  both  wood  and  stone ; 
and  that  as  such  they  constituted  a  regularly  organized  temple- 
craft,  whose  chiefs  united  in  themselves  the  kingly  and  sacerdotal 
functions.  The  same  functions  were  united  also  in  the  principal 
personages  of  the  metal-craft.  Whether  as  belonging  to  one  or  the 
other  order,  these  were  really  the  founders  of  the  ancient  civiliza- 
tions, the  primitive  instructors  of  mankind  in  the  useful  arts  and 
sciences,  as  well  as  in  religious  knowledge. 

Such,  we  are  now  fully  authorized  to  say,  in  view  of  all  the  facts 
presented,  was  the  origin  of  priest-craft  and  king-craft,  to  use  here 
the  form  of  expression  frequently  adopted  by  some  modern  writers, 
applied  as  opprobrious  epithets  to  those  who  endeavored  to  conduct 
the  affairs  of  mankind  before  these  writers  were  born.  Doubtless, 
these  ancient  constructors  and  fabricators  were  men,  inheriting  the 
frailties  common  to  humanity  in  all  ages.  On  the  other  side,  the 
facts  now  before  us  tend  unmistakably  to  the  conclusion  that,  while 
the  races  surrounding  them  were  in  a  state  of  semi-barbarism,  if 
not  of  actual  savagism,  these  primitive  "  corporations,"  so  properly 
termed  by  Baron  D'Eckstein,  were  engaged  in  the  pursuits  of  regu- 
lar industry,  practically  laying  the  foundations  of  social  order  and 
of  human  progress.  It  was  they  who  adjusted  the  first  corner- 


CUSHITE  AKCHJEOLOGY.  93 

stones,  who  built  the  first  forges,  who  founded  the  first  dynasties. 
If  civilization  is  to  be  esteemed  a  blessing,  if  civil  and  religious 
institutions  are  of  any  value  to  man,  the  priest-kings  of  antiquity 
are  entitled  to  the  credit  of  having  originated  them,  or  the  teachings 
of  universal  tradition  are  at  serious  fault.  The  oldest  historical 
records  presuppose  their  existence  and  labors,  all  the  mythologies 
exhibit  more  or  less  distinct  traces  of  them,  and  the  earliest  monu- 
ments known  to  the  world  were  but  the  material  expression  of  their 
doctrines.  Whether  as  Pa-te-shi  or  Oabiri,  whether  as  Dioscuri 
or  as  Dactyli^  these  mysterious  personages  were  those  who  kept 
the  records  of  the  unknown  past,  who  preserved  for  us  the  sacred 
tradition  and  science,  relating  alike  to  the  beginning  and  to  the  end 
of  things.  It  is  probable  that  their  doctrines  were  but  illy  under- 
stood by  their  less  cultured  contemporaries,  and  the  distorted  repre- 
sentations of  their  character,  on  the  part  of  their  enemies,  their 
conquerors  and  persecutors,  in  fact,  render  it  all  the  more  necessary 
that  we  should  discriminate  in  our  judgment  of  them,  and,  above 
all,  refuse  to  become  ourselves  the  inheritors  of  the  prejudices  of 
those  who  were  often  the  most  indebted  to  them  for  their  own 
advancement. 

From  the  data  which  have  been  placed  before  the  reader  in  the 
present  chapter,  nothing  appears  more  obvious  than  the  fact  that 
the  foundations  of  the  world's  civilization  were  laid  in  wisdom,  and 
not  in  ignorance ;  were  laid  by  men  of  intelligence,  and  not  by  be- 
nighted savages.  Not  one  of  the  ancient  civilizations  was  of  sponta- 
neous growth,  having  its  origin  in  the  crude  notions  and  customs  of 
savage  tribes ;  not  one  of  them  but  had  its  genealogy  that  can  be 
traced  back  into  the  darkness  of  ages  prior  to  its  own  existence,  for 
the  fundamental  ideas  upon  which  it  was  based ;  ideas  so  profound, 
that  the  wise  ones  of  antiquity  considered  it  an  honor  to  have  been 
instructed  in  them.  Show  us,  then,  the  first  temple  constructed 
upon  the  earth :  we  will  show  that  it  had  a  model,  and  that  this 
model  was  the  universe  itself ;  the  house  that  God  built !  Show  to 
us  the  first  civilized  community  among  men :  we  will  prove  that 
this  also  had  its  model ;  that  it  was  conceived  as  an  image  of  the 
heavens ;  of  the  order  and  harmony  in  which  the  heavenly  bodies 
move ;  and,  compared  with  the  surrounding  chaos  and  barbarism,  it 
literally  was  such  !  But  we  are  anticipating  here,  to  some  extent, 
the  results  of  future  investigations.  What  we  do  show,  however, 


94 


HAR-MOAD. 


is  the  existence  of  an  ancient  order  of  priest-kings,  of  an  origin  so 
remote  that  even  the  earliest  traditions  afford  us  no  notice  of  it,  of 
which,  indeed,  it  might  well  be  said  that  it  was  without  beginning, 
and  the  question  remains  to  us,  whether  it  has  had  an  end  ? 

SEC.  39.  There  are  no  documents  known  to  the  world  where 
the  allusions  to  the  symbols  common  to  the  Cabiri  are  so  frequent, 
and  where  the  ideas  associated  with  these  symbols  are  so  funda- 
mental, as  in  the  books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament.  These 
striking  analogies,  which  will  be  more  definitely  set  forth  in  a  few 
moments,  naturally  conduct  to  a  standpoint  from  which  to  view  the 
religions  of  the  Bible,  especially  that  of  the  Hebrews,  which  has 
been  rarely  adopted,  but  which  is  becoming  more  and  more  neces- 
sary in  the  light  of  modern  investigations,  demonstrating  the  prior 
existence  of  so  many  ideas,  heretofore  regarded  as  peculiar  and  es- 
sential to  the  Mosaic  religion.  I  adopt  here,  with  only  slight  quali- 
fications, the  opinions  of  A.  W.  von  Schlegel,  as  cited  by  Dr. 
Movers :  — 

"  The  more  I  investigate  the  history  of  the  ancient  world,  the 
more  firmly  I  am  convinced  that  a  pure  worship  of  the  Supreme 
Being  was  primitive  among  the  cultured  nations ;  but  that  the 
magical  power  of  nature  over  the  human  imagination  at  this  period 
gradually  gave  rise  to  polytheism,  so  that  in  the  end  the  spiritual 
element  in  the  popular  belief  was  completely  obscured;  while  the 
sages  alone  preserved  the  ancient  mysteries  in  the  sanctuary." l 

I  should  account  for  the  rise  of  polytheism  upon  other  grounds 
than  those  indicated  by  Von  Schlegel ;  and,  indeed,  M.  Mariette- 
Bey  for  Egypt  and  M.  De  Vogiie  for  Western  Asia  generally  have 
definitely  traced  the  process  which  resulted  in  this  lamentable  cor- 
ruption of  religious  ideas.  However,  that  the  truth  was  once  known 
among  men,  and  that  subsequently  it  was  obliged  to  seek  refuge  in 
the  sanctuaries  and  in  the  mysteries,  accords  perfectly  with  the  re- 
sults of  my  own  investigations,  and  I  had  long  since  adopted  this 
view.  The  same,  also,  as  applied  to  the  opinions  of  Dr.  Movers 
himself,  expressed  in  the  following  :  — 

"  Neither  from  the  historical  nor  from  the  theological  standpoint 
can  I  regard  the  Mosaic  religion  as  a  development  out  of  paganism, 
but  rather,  and  in  the  sense  of  the  sacred  writers  themselves,  as  a 
restoration  of  the  pure  worship  of  a  more  primitive  epoch ;  a  wor- 
ship which,  at  different  periods,  among  the  Israelites  and  their  fore- 

1  Vid.  Movers,  Phcenizier,  i.  p.  313. 


CUSHITE  ARCHAEOLOGY.  95 

fathers,  had  become  more  or  less  corrupted ;  first,  and  according  to 
Biblical  accounts,  by  Abraham's  ancestors  in  Chaldsea."  1 

Since  Christianity  is,  in  respect  to  many  of  its  fundamental  ideas, 
but  a  higher  statement  of  the  Mosaic  religion,  I  think  Dr.  Movers' 
views,  with  some  qualifications,  should  be  applied  to  this  system 
also ;  and  it  is  principally  upon  these  grounds  that  I  interpret  the 
facts  already  developed,  and  yet  to  be  developed,  in  the  present 
treatise. 

The  frequent  reference  by  the  sacred  writers  to  the  dressed  stone, 
as  a  symbol  of  the  Messiah  and  of  his  church,  is  a  matter  familiar 
to  every  student  of  the  Scriptures.  We  cite  here  a  few  instances. 
1st.  Jacob's  significant  allusion  to  Joseph,  a  recognized  type  of  the 
Saviour :  — 

"  From  thence  is  the  shepherd,  the  stone  of  Israel  "  (Gen.  xlix.  24).  "  The 
stone  which  the  builders  refused  is  become  the  head  stone  of  the  corner  "  (Ps. 
cxviii.  22).  "  Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  for  a  foundation  a  stone,  a  tried  stone,  a 
precious  corner  stone,  a  sure  foundation"  (Is.  xxviii.  16).  "And  are  built 
upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being 
the  chief  corner  stone  ;  in  whom  all  the  building  fitly  framed  together  groweth 
unto  a  holy  temple  in  the  Lord  ;  in  whom  ye  also  are  builded  together  for  a 
habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit  "  (Eph.  ii.  20-22). 

Even  more  frequent  are  the  figures  drawn  from  the  process  of 
metallurgy,  and  from  the  element  of  fire  as  a  purifying  agent :  — 

"Whose  fire  is  in  Zion,  and  his  furnace  in  Jerusalem"  (fs.  xxxi.  9).  "The 
house  of  Israel  is  to  me  become  dross  :  all  they  are  brass,  and  tin,  and  iron, 
and  lead,  in  the  midst  of  the  furnace ;  they  are  even  the  dross  of  silver.  .  .  . 
As  they  gather  silver,  and  brass,  and  iron,  and  lead,  and  tin,  into  the  midst  of 
the  furnace,  to  blow  the  fire  upon  it,  to  melt  it,  so  will  I  gather  you  "  (Ezek. 
xxii.  18,  20,  etc.).  "And  I  will  bring  the  third  part  through  the  fire,  and  will 
refine  them  as  silver  is  refined,  and  will  try  them  as  gold  is  tried"  (Zech.  xiii. 
9).  "  For  he  is  like  a  refiner's  fire,  and  like  fullers'  sope  :  and  he  shall  sit  as  a 
refiner  and  purifier  of  silver  :  and  he  shall  purify  the  sons  of  Levi,  and  purge 
them  as  gold  and  silver  "  (Mai.  iii.  2,  3).  "  He  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  with  fire  "  (Matt.  iii.  11). 

Undoubtedly,  we  are  to  attribute  somewhat  in  these  examples 
to  the  ordinary  poetic  spirit ;  much  less,  however,  as  regards  the 
symbol  of  the  dressed  stone.  But  in  both  cases,  the  figures  so 
exactly  accord  with  the  character  of  Jehovah,  and  with  the  under- 
lying conceptions  of  the  two  systems  of  the  Bible,  that  it  is  difficult 
not  to  see  here  a  natural  and  direct  inheritance,  on  the  part  of  the 
sacred  writers,  of  the  customary  parlance  of  the  ancient  temple- 
craft  on  one  hand,  and  that  of  the  metal-craft  on  the  other.  What 

1  Ibid.,  p.  315. 


96 


HAR-MOAD. 


language  could  point  any  more  significantly  to  such  a  conclusion 
than  the  following  ? 

"  For  we  are  labourers  together  with  God  :  ye  are  God's  husbandry,  ye  are  God's 
building.  According  to  the  grace  of  God  which  is  given  unto  me,  as  a  wise  mas- 
terbuilder,  I  have  laid  the  foundation,  and  another  buildeth  thereon.  But  let 
every  man  take  heed  how  he  buildeth  thereupon.  For  other  foundation  can  no 
man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ.  Now  if  any  man  build  upon 
this  foundation,  gold,  silver,  precious  stones,  wood,  hay,  stubble  ;  every  man's  work 
shall  be  made  manifest :  for  the  day  shall  declare  it,  because  it  shall  be  revealed 
by  fire ;  and  the  fire  shall  try  every  man's  work  of  what  sort  it  is.  If  any 
man's  work  abide  which  he  hath  built  thereupon,  he  shall  receive  a  reward.  If 
any  man's  work  shall  be  burned,  he  shall  suffer  loss  :  but  he  himself  shall  be  saved; 
yet  so  as  by  fire.  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of  God,  and  that  the  Spirit 
of  God  dwelleth  in  you?  "  (1  Cor.  iii.  9-16). 

Here  are  not  less  than  a  score  of  words,  whose  mystical  intent 
might  well  be  insisted  upon,  and  their  reference  primarily  to  the 
44  corporations  "  of  which  there  has  been  here  question. 

SEC.  40.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  connection  of  the 
order  of  priest-kings  to  which  Christ  belonged,  which  was  certainly 
historical,  and  which  was  recognized  by  Abraham  in  the  person  of 
Melchizedek ;  whatever  we  may  say  of  the  connection  of  this  mys- 
terious order  with  the  one  whose  character  and  history  we  have 
attempted  to  trace,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  sacred  writers 
regarded  the  Messiah  as  the  Great  Master,  as  the  .Rock  of  Ages,  the 
stone  par  excellence;  and  not 'less,  as  the  Fire  that  shall  try  every 
man's  work.  Indeed,  who  were  the  "  wise  men  "  that  came  from 
the  East  to  salute  the  young  Prince  of  the  manger  ?  They  were 
Magi  (Gr.  fuxyot)  ;  they  were  fire- worshipers.  The  "  star  "  which 
they  had  seen  in  the  east  was  the  "bright  and  morning  star;"  the 
Dun-pa-uddu,  "peaceful  prophet  of  the  rising  sun."  In  Mr.  Smith's 
recent  work,  "  The  Chaldsean  Account  of  Genesis,"  the  author  gives 
three  cuts,  illustrative  of  the  fragmentary  inscriptions  which  he 
thinks  related  to  the  building  of  the  tower  of  Babel.  The  cylinders 
from  which  these  cuts  are  taken  certainly  represent  the  operations 
of  building,  of  some  construction  in  brick  or  tiles.1  Three  person- 
ages are  seen  upon  each  cylinder,  two  engaged  in  adjusting  the  tiles, 
the  third  being  regarded  by  the  author  as  a  divinity.  This  leads 
me  to  doubt  whether  these  representations  relate  definitely  to  the 

1  Pp.  158,  159.  For  another  cut,  quite  similar  ta  the  third  one  given  by  Mr. 
Smith,  and  in  all  respects  allied  to  the  same  class  of  representations,  see  Revue 
Archeologique,  Paris,  1874,  September,  Plate  XV.,  No.  3,  being  one  among  many 
Babylonian  cylinders  studied  by  M.  E.  Soldi. 


CUSHITE  ARCHEOLOGY.  97 

tower  of  Babel ;  for  it  is  obvious  here  that  both  gods  and  men  are 
engaged  in  the  work,  and  that,  as  shown  in  the  second  cut,  the  work 
is  about  being  finished.  The  symbolical  animals  crowning  the  top 
of  the  columns,  the  folded  arms  of  the  superintendent  of  construc- 
tions, in  an  attitude  of  repose  so  different  from  that  shown  in  the 
other  examples,  plainly  indicate  that  the  work  hastens  to  comple- 
tion. But  more  significant  than  all  else  of  this  idea  is  the  fourth 
personage  shown  in  this  cylinder  upon  the  extreme  right.  He  is  ob- 
viously a  messenger,  who  goes  to  proclaim  the  happy  consummation 
of  the  labors.  In  one  hand  he  carries  a  branch.  He  is  represented 
as  hastening  through  the  valleys  and  over  the  mountain  heights ; 
and  in  the  east  is  seen  a  star,  which  has  already  mounted  above  the 
horizon.1  He  is  a  messenger ;  and  it  is  evident  that  he  proclaims 
good  news.  There  were  two  classes  of  messengers  in  antiquity ; 
those  who  brought  good  news,  and  they  who  proclaimed  evil  tidings. 
From  some  peculiarity  in  their  dress,  or  in  the  symbols  borne  by 
them,  it  was  possible  to  distinguish  them  afar  off,  and  while  they 
were  yet  on  the  distant  mountain-tops.  It  is  this  circumstance  that 
the  prophet  has  improved  in  the  highly  poetic  passage :  — 

"  How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of  him  that  bringeth  good 
tidings,  that  publisheth  peace  ;  that  bringeth  good  tidings  of  good,  that  publish- 
eth  salvation ;  that  saith  unto  Zion,  Thy  God  reigneth  !  "  (Is.  Hi.  7). 

Having  a  like  reference  to  constructions,  and  to  the  victorious 
branch,  symbol  of  new  creations,  are  the  following :  — 

"  Behold,  I  will  bring  forth  my  servant  the  Branch.  For  behold  the  stone  that 
I  have  laid  before  Joshua  "  (Zech.  iii.  8,  9).  "Behold  the  man  whose  name  is 
The  Branch  ;  and  he  shall  grow  up  out  of  his  place,  and  he  shall  build  the  temple 
of  the  Lord  :  even  he  shall  build  the  temple  of  <the  Lord  ;  and  he  shall  bear  the 
glory,  and  shall  sit  and  rule  upon  his  throne  ;  and  he  shall  be  a  priest  upon  his 
throne"  (vi.  12,  13). 

These  Babylonian  cylinders,  then,  in  which,  as  usual,  we  see  the 
substitution  of  brick  for  stone,  represent  the  progress  and  final  com- 
pletion of  the  work  upon  which  these  craftsmen,  divine  and  human, 
are  mutually  engaged  and  laboring  together.  The  messenger  with 
branch  in  hand,  as  he  traverses  the  mountain  heights,  and  the  flam- 
ing star  already  risen  in  the  east,  proclaim  equally  the  glad  tidings 

1  For  evidence  that  it  is  a  branch  held  in  the  hand  of  this  personage,  compare  it 
with  those  of  the  sacred  tree  represented  on  p.  91  of  the  same  work.  Still  better, 
compare  the  trees  shown  in  Rawlinson's  Five  Monarchies,  i.  p.  348.  That  this 
personage  traverses  mountains  is  proved  by  a  comparison  of  this  cut  with  the 
mountains  shown  in  another  plate  in  Rev.  George  Rawlinson's  work  just  cited, 
Ibid.,  p.  4GG. 


98  HAR-MOAD. 

that  the  work  is  done,  and  that  the  glorious  morning  has  dawned. 
One  loves  to  dwell  upon  these  messengers  of  promise,  who  have 
come  down  to  us  through  the  ages ;  upon  these  great  prophets  and 
kings,  instructors  and  civilizers  of  the  world,  who  have  kindled  the 
beacon  flames  on  the  holy  mountains  of  the  past,  and  as  signal  lights 
reflected  across  the  centuries,  mementos  of  humanity's  struggles, 
and  prayers,  and  sacrifices,  yet  beautiful  harbingers  of  final  victory. 
They  warn  us  of  dangers,  they  exhort  us  to  labor,  they  encourage 
our  hopes,  imploring  us  above  all  to  keep  the  tires  renewed,  and  to 
transmit  the  signals  to  our  own  posterity. 

The  investigations  of  the  present  chapter  suffice  to  prove  that  the 
principle  of  order  has  existed  on  the  earth  from  the  beginning ;  that 
barbarism  has  had  its  antagonists  and  civilization  its  champions 
since  the  very  first  act  in  the  great  historical  drama.  The  human 
spirit  did  not  slumber  through  a  long  night  of  ignorance,  all  uncon- 
scious of  its  power  and  of  the  propitious  destinies  that  invited  it  to 
activity.  The  first  storm-cloud  spreading  its  dark  wings  along  the 
horizon,  the  first  thunder-bolt  shot  from  its  ragged  breast,  would 
teach  man  the  necessity  of  self-protection,  even  if  there  was  no  God 
to  direct  his  faltering  steps,  no  inspiration  to  guide  his  efforts  in 
the  midst  of  a  strange  life  and  a  strange  world.  But  the  genius 
that  could  vie  with  the  modern  artist  in  sketching  a  group  of  ani- 
mals in  the  reindeer  period  would  soon  penetrate  into  the  deeper 
secrets  of  nature,  and  bring  to  a  tolerable  state  of  perfection  some 
of  the  more  useful  arts.1  I  do  not  admit,  however,  that  there  was 

1  Vid.  the  specimens  shown  in  Sir  J.  Lubbock's  Origin  of  Civilization,  pp.  24- 
26,  and  note  the  important  admission  that  races  of  an  epoch  long  subsequent  were 
far  inferior  in  artistic  skill.  But  compare  with  these  forced  admissions  of  the 
author  the  following  frank  statements  of  M.  Paul  Broca,  Secretary  of  the  Anthro- 
pological Society  of  Paris,  relating  to  the  same  specimens  :  — 

"  It  is  hard  to  conceive  how  men  destitute  of  the  use  of  metals  were  able  to 
fabricate  of  bone,  ivory,  the  antlers  of  the  reindeer,  an  infinite  variety  of  very 
delicate  utensils  ;  to  carve,  I  had  almost  said  to  chisel,  elegant  forms,  and  to 
represent  by  designs  engraved  in  line  on  the  handles  of  their  instruments  the  figures 
of  different  animals.  These  figures  are  distinguished  by  an  exactness  and  artistic 
skill  truly  remarkable,  and  to  find  in  an  equal  degree  the  sentiment  of  art  it 
would  be  necessary  to  revert,  through  many  centuries,  to  the  better  times  of 
Greece.  They  form  a  contrast  so  absolute  with  the  rude  delineations  traced  on 
some  Celtic  monuments  (of  a  far  later  period),  that  it  might  be  asked  whether 
they  have  not  been  designed  since  the  historic  era  by  fugitives  who  may  have  sought 
refuge  in  the  caves  of  our  ancient  troglodytes.  But  what  other  than  the  man  of 
the  quarternary  period  could  have  designed  in  Europe  on  the  bones  or  horns  of 
the  reindeer  the  figure  of  a  species  of  elephant  which  differs  from  all  living 


CUSHITE  ARCHEOLOGY.  99 

no  Divinity  shaping  the  course  of  history  in  those  primitive  ages. 
He  whose  fiery  breath  melts  down  sun  and  planet,  ceaselessly  roar- 
ing in  the  great  furnace  of  existence,  kindles  the  flames  also  upon 
the  tongue  of  the  prophet ;  and  the  Divinity  who  merely  veils  him- 
self behind  the  living  screen  of  nature,  steps  forth  anon  to  lead  a 
chosen  race  through  unknown  paths,  prompting  it  to  illustrious  deeds. 
It  is  of  such  races  that  the  redeemers  of  the  world  are  born.  It  was 
of  such  men,  cradled  at  the  hearth-stones  of  primeval  humanity,  with 
the  fire-god  for  their  foster-father,  that  the  first  priesthoods  were 
formed,  the  first  mystic  corporations  organized,  and  it  was  through 
these  that  the  sovereign-pontiffs  of  antiquity  might  trace  their  line- 
age back  almost  to  the  natal  hour  of  humanity  itself.  It  was  these 
mystic  fraternities,  in  fact,  with  their  strong  hands  clasped  across 
the  dark  periods,  the  frightful  chasms  of  the  world's  history,  like 
iron  links  bridging  the  abyss  that  roars  below,  through  whom  the 
sacred  inheritances  of  previous  epochs  were  transmitted,  to  become 
the  germinal  centres  of  new  creations  and  of  new  eras.  Finally,  I 
believe  that  it  was  from  this  race  of  civilizers,  lovers  of  truth,  of 
justice,  and  of  humanity,  that  a  precious  stone  was  chosen  as  the 
foundation  of  our  own  era ;  He  who,  when  the  sacrificial  floors  were 
to  be  re-sanded,  and  a  new  victim  slain,  placed  the  cup  of  suffering 
to  his  own  lips,  and  ratified  the  eternal  covenant  with  his  own 
blood.  I  conclude  the  present  chapter  with  the  following  extract, 
taken  from  a  work  already  once  cited  :  — 

"  After  all  that  has  been  written,  perhaps  the  symbol  of  Vulcan 
and  the  Cabiri  may  be  studied  with  most  effect  in  the  Mosaic  scrip- 
tures. Among  the  Harleian  Manuscripts  is  a  copy  of  the  consti- 
tution of  an  ancient  body  of  Freemasons,  prefaced  by  a  short  his- 
tory, commencing  as  follows:  '  If  you  ask  me  how  this  science  was 

species  ?  This  race  of  men,  so  "interesting  through  its  civilization,  led  a  peace- 
able existence.  A  skull  found  in  the  grotto  of  Bruniquel,  of  which  M.  Brun  has 
sent  us  the  photograph,  is  distinguished  by  the  purity  of  its  form,  the  softness  of 
its  outlines,  the  little  prominence  of  the  apophyses,  the  slight  depth  of  the  muscu- 
lar insertions,  characters  incompatible  with  the  violent  habits  of  a  savage  or  bar- 
barous race.  What,  then,  became  of  this  indigenous  civilization,  so  original,  so 
different  from  all  those  which  are  known  to  us  ?  Was  it  modified  by  slow  de- 
grees and  transibrmed  to  the  extent  of  becoming  at  last  wholly  unrecognizable  ? 
No  ;  it  has  disappeared  in  the  mass  without  leaving  any  trace,  and  everything 
tends  to  the  belief  that  it  perished  by  force."  (Smithsonian  Reports,  1868,  pp. 
388,  389.) 

The  same  old  story  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  —  barbarism  obliterating 
in  a  day  what  only  the  toils  of  centuries  had  been  able  to  accomplish ! 


100 


HAR-MOAD. 


first  invented,  my  answer  is  this :  That  before  the  general  deluge, 
which  is  commonly  called  Noah's  flood,  there  was  a  man  called 
Lemeck,  as  you  may  read  in  the  4th  of  Genesis,  whoe  had  twoe 
wives,  the  one  called  Adah,  the  other  Zilla ;  by  Adah  hee  begot 
twoe  sones,  Jabell  and  Juball ;  by  Zilla  hee  had  a  sonne  called 
Tuball  and  a  daughter  named  Naahmah  ;  these  fower  children 
found  ye  beginning  of  all  ye  craft  in  the  world  ;  Jabeli  found  out 
geometry  and  hee  divided  flocks  of  sheep  and  lands ;  hee  first  built 
a  house  of  stone  and  timber ;  Jubell  found  out  musick ;  Tuball 
found  out  the  smyths  trade  or  craft  alsoe  of  gold,  silver,  copper, 
iron  and  steele,'  etc.  This  Tubal  or  Tubalcain  we  may  pretty 
safely  identify  with  Vulcan,  the  symbol  of  material  art,  or  of  the 
man  understanding  and  working  in  nature.  It  is  only  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  this  symbol,  and  its  connection  in  Genesis,  that  we  can 
ever  hope  to  discover  the  beginning  of  the  ancient  mysteries  and  of 
that  system  of  religion  and  philosophy  that  overspread  Asia  and 
Greece.  In  working  such  a  problem,  the  births  of  these  4  fower 
children '  must  be  looked  at  as  so  many  successive  manifestations  of 
the  spirit  in  man,  producing,  in  fine,  the  Greek  understanding,  and 
the  magic  of  Samothrace  and  Thessalonica.  Naahmah,  the  last 
born,  is  the  virgin  Wisdom,  that  lies  deepest  in  human  understand- 
ing; and  hence  the  mystic  prophecy  that  Tubalcain,  in  the  last 
days,  shall  find  his  sister  Naahmah,  who  shall  come  to  him  in  golden 
attire."  1 

1  Occult  Science,  p.  165.  The  above  extract,  and  those  previously  given,  are 
from  the  article  on  the  Cabiri,  by  E.  Rich,  Esq.,  England.  We  do  not  fully  in- 
dorse the  speculations  of  the  author,  but  value  the  quotation  simply  for  the  facts, 
and  the  singular  item  of  Masonic  history  given.  Our  investigations  are  in  no 
sense  related  to  masonry,  except  in  so  far  as  the  facts  gleaned  from  antiquity  may 
be  construed  in  this  light.  Our  search  is  for  the  simple,  naked  truth,  without 
reference  to  any  existing  organizations,  political,  religious,  or  mystical.  Orte 
thing,  however,  is  certain  :  the  Masonic  Order  of  to-day  does  not  date  from 
ancient  Rome,  according  to  the  theory  of  an  eminent  French  writer  belonging  to 
this  fraternity.  Its  history  evidently  goes  back  into  the  night  of  ages.  The 
Roman  temple-craft  derived  their  origin  from  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates,  since 
the  civilization  of  Rome  is  now  known  to  have  been  derived,  in  a  great  measure, 
from  this  region,  of  all  which  constant  accumulations  of  proof  will  be  found  in 
the  chapters  following. 


BOOK  II. 

MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

QUESTION  OF   THE  ORIGIN  OF   THE  DOCUMENTS,  AND  OF  THE 
ANALOGIES   EXISTING  BETWEEN  THEM. 

SEC.  41.  In  the  light  of  present  knowledge,  it  is  necessary  to 
admit  the  existence  of  written  documents  at  an  epoch  far  more 
remote  than  the  critics  of  a  former  period  believed  themselves 
authorized  to  suppose.  The  hieroglyphic  system  of  Egypt  seems 
to  have  been  coeval  with  the  earliest  monuments,  and  the  hieratic 
Accadian  is  supposed  by  some  to  have  been  brought  to  the  Euphra- 
tes valley  by  the  founders  of  the  Babylonian  civilization.  So  far  as 
shown  by  any  discoveries  yet  made,  written  documents  existed  in 
Babylonia  and  Chaldaea  contemporaneously  with  the  oldest  cities 
and  temples.  Everything  indicates,  in  fact,  that  the  Hamites 
learned  to  write  before  they  entered  Egypt,  and  the  Cushites  also 
before  they  immigrated  to  the  plains  of  Shinar.  In  neither  coun- 
try do  the  monuments  afford  the  slightest  hint  that  the  system  of 
writing  had  been  invented  after  its  settlement  by  the  races  creating 
these  monuments  ;  on  the  contrary,  this  invention  appears  in  both 
instances  as  a  traditionary  inheritance  from  an  unknown  period. 
But  while  these  statements  must  be  regarded  as,  in  some  measure 
at  least,  justified  by  well-known  facts,  it  is  difficult  for  scholars  to 
attach  much  credit  to  those  traditions,  so  widely  prevalent  in  West- 
ern Asia,  that  certain  sacred  writings  had  existed  even  in  antedilu- 
vian times,  being  preserved  from  destruction  by  the  waters  of  the 
deluge  and  transmitted  to  subsequent  ages.  Yet  the  fragments  of 
Berosus,  regarded  so  reliable  in  all  other  matters,  afford  direct  tes- 


102  HAR-MOAD. 

timony  to  the  reality  of  even  this  supposition.     In  the  account  of 
the  deluge  transmitted  by  Berosus  the  following  passages  occur :  — 

"  God  appeared  to  Xisuthrus  (the  Chaldsean  Noah)  in  a  dream, 
and  warned  him  that  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  month  Dsesius, 
mankind  would  be  destroyed  by  a  deluge.  He  bade  him  bury  in 
Sippara,  the  City  of  the  Sun,  the  extant  writings,  first  arid  last,  and 
build  a  ship,"  etc.  "  They  who  had  remained  in  the  ark,  and  not 
gone  forth  with  Xisuthrus  (after  the  waters  retired),  now  left  it 
and  searched  for  him,  and  shouted  out  his  name ;  but  Xisuthrus 
was  not  seen  any  more.  Only  his  voice  answered  them  out  of  the 
air,  saying,  4  Worship  God ;  for  because  I  worshiped  God  am  I  gone 
to  dwell  with  the  gods  ;  and  they  who  were  with  me  have  shared 
the  same  honor.'  And  he  bade  them  return  to  Babylon,  and  re- 
cover the  writings  buried  at  Sippara,  and  make  them  known  among 
men  ;  and  he  told  them  that  the  land  in  which  they  then  were  was 
Armenia.  So  they,  when  they  had  heard  all,  sacrificed  to  the  gods, 
and  went  their  way  on  foot  to  Babylon,  and,  having  reached  it, 
recovered  the  buried  writings  from  Sippara,  and  built  many  cities 
and  temples,  and  restored  Babylon."  1 

According  to  Berosus,  the  city  where  Xisuthrus  lived  before  the 
deluge  was  the  Larsam  of  the  inscriptions,  the  modern  Senkereli, 
situated  to  the  south  of  Babylon.  Sippara,  where  the  sacred  books 
were  buried,  was  situated  to  the  north  of  Babylon.  Both  cities 
were  noted  seats  of  the  worship  of  the  Sun-god,  to  whom  magnificent 
temples  had  been  raised  at  a  very  early  period.  We  see,  then,  that 
the  existence  of  sacred  writings  even  before  the  deluge,  and  their 
preservation  and  transmission  to  the  post-diluvian  world,  is  expressly 
affirmed  by  Berosus,  whose  remarkable  fidelity  on  all  other  points 
relating  to  antiquity  is  now  generally  admitted.  But  another  tra- 
dition prevailed  in  ancient  times  quite  similar  to  that  just  noticed, 
and  it  tends  to  support  it  in  some  measure.  Alluding  to  the  chil- 
dren of  Seth,  third  son  of  Adam,  Josephus  says:  — 

"  They  also  were  the  inventors  of  that  peculiar  sort  of  wisdom 
which  is  concerned  with  the  heavenly  bodies  and  their  order.  And 
that  their  inventions  might  not  be  lost  before  they  were  sufficiently 
known,  upon  Adam's  prediction  that  the  world  was  to  be  destroyed 
at  one  time  by  the  force  of  fire,  and  at  another  time  by  the  violence 
and  quantity  of  water,  they  made  two  pillars ;  the  one  of  brick,  the 

1  Vid.  Rawl.,  Five  Monarchies,  i.  pp.  145,  146.  Rev.  Mr.  Rawlinson's  version 
of  these  "  Fragments  "  is  an  improvement  upon  Cory's,  and  to  be  preferred  for 
accuracy. 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  103 

other  of  stone ;  they  inscribed  their  discoveries  on  them  both,  that 
in  case  the  pillar  of  brick  should  be  destroyed  by  the  flood,  the 
pillar  of  stone  might  remain  and  exhibit  those  discoveries  to  man- 
kind, and  also  inform  them  that  there  was  another  pillar  of  brick 
erected  by  them.  Now  this  remains  in  the  land  of  Siriad  to  this 
day."1 

Dr.  Whiston,  the  translator  of  Josephus,  appends  a  note  to  the 
above,  in  which  he  remarks  :  — 

*'  Although  the  main  of  this  relation  might  be  true,  and  Adam 
might  foretell  a  conflagration  and  a  deluge,  which  all  antiquity  wit- 
nesses to  be  an  ancient  tradition,  —  nay,  Seth's  posterity  might  en- 
grave their  inventions  in  astronomy  on  two  such  pillars,  — yet  it  is 
no  way  creditable  that  they  could  survive  the  deluge."  (Op.  cit.) 

M.  Lenonnant  adopts  the  conjecture  of  M.  Maury,  that  the  pil- 
lars to  which  Josephus  alludes,  traditions  concerning  which  are 
known  to  have  been  current  among  the  Jews,  are  in  reality  but 
another  form  of  the  Babylonian  tradition  of  the  deluge,  and  thus 
observes :  "  The  history  of  the  pillars  in  the  land  of  Siriad  is,  then, 
as  M.  Maury  had  conceived,  only  a  variant  of  the  special  Chaldaean 
tradition  of  the  deluge." 2  Both  M.  Lenonnant  and  Professor 
Chwolsohn  take  note  of  the  passage  in  the  Egyptian  Manetho, 
strongly  suspected  to  be  spurious,  but  to  the  effect ;  That  the  first 
Thoth,  or  Hermes,  before  the  deluge  inscribed  upon  pillars  the 
principles  of  knowledge  in  hieroglyphs  and  in  the  sacred  language  ; 
and  that  after  the  deluge  the  second  Thoth  translated  the  same 
into  the  popular  language.3  Professor  Chwolsohn,  as  previously 
cited  in  these  pages,  shows  that  this  ancient  Thoth  was  identified 
by  various  writers  with  the  Biblical  Enoch,  and  that  he  was  consid- 
ered the  author  of  sacred  writings.4 

It  is  altogether  probable,  whether  we  admit  the  real  existence  of 
these  pillars  or  not,  that  the  tradition  concerning  them  should  be 
credited  originally  to  those  ancient  "corporations"  whose  singular 
history  we  attempted  to  trace  in  the  last  chapter,  and  who  were 
specially  engaged  in  fabrications  in  brick,  stone,  and  the  metals 
generally.  Indeed,  I  think  that  the  tradition  as  handed  down 
varied  at  times  with  respect  to  the  materials  employed  for  erecting 

1  Antiq.  of  the  Jews,  B.  I.  ii.  3.     Whiston's  version. 

2  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  276. 

8  Vid.  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  269  ;  Ssabier,  i.  p.  784. 
4  Ssabier,  i.  pp.  781-794. 


104 


HAR-MOAD. 


these  pillars,  affirming  that,*while  one  was  of  brick,  as  best  adapted 
to  resist  the  element  oijire,  the  other  was  of  cast  brass,  as  admira- 
bly calculated  to  resist  the  force  of  water.  Be  this  as  it  may,  we 
see  here  how  extensively  prevalent  in  antiquity  were  the  ideas  that 
the  art  of  writing  existed  even  before  the  deluge,  and  that  the 
sacred  science  had  been  transmitted  by  some  means  from  the  ante- 
diluvian to  the  post-diluvian  world.  One  has  to  yield  very  much  to 
the  influence  of  incredulity  not  to  admit  that  there  must  have  been 
some  real  basis  for  all  these  legends.  But  the  tradition  as  pre- 
served by  Berosus,  relating  to  the  sacred  writings  buried  during  the 
deluge,  deserves,  of  the  two,  the  most  serious  consideration,  and  we 
proceed  to  show  that  this  account  of  Berosus  must  have  been  fully 
credited  by  the  monarchs  of  Babylon. 

SEC.  42.  The  evidences  to  be  here  adduced  are  drawn  from  the 
inscription  of  Nabunahid,  well  known  to  Assyrian  scholars,  in  which 
this  monarch  gives  an  account  of  repeated  excavations  at  Sippara 
for  the  discovery  of  certain  mysterious  tables  supposed  to  have  been 
buried  beneath  the  foundation-stone  of  the  temple  Ulbar,  situated 
in  that  part  of  the  city  known  under  the  name  of  Agane'.  The 
subjoined  remarks  of  M.  Lenormant,  relating  to  Berosus'  state- 
ments concerning  the  sacred  writings,  will  serve  the  purpose  of  in- 
troduction to  the  matter  before  us  :  — 

"  This  history  of  the  tables  containing  the  principles  of  all  know- 
ledge, revealed  by  the  theophanies  of  Ann  (Gr.  Oannes)^  which 
had  been  buried  by  Xisuthrus  at  the  time  of  the  deluge  in  order 
that  they  might  be  transmitted  to  the  post-diluvian  world,  had 
been,  as  we  have  shown,  the  source  of  the  legend  quite  similar 
relating  to  the  columns  of  Thoth  or  Seth  in  the  land  of  Siriad,  to 
which  the  Pseudo-Manetho  alludes.  Josephus  says  that  these  pil- 
lars existed  even  in  his  time  ;  and  here  we  believe  to  have  again  a 
Babylonian  tradition  attaching  itself  to  a  real  fact,  which  is  revealed 
to  us  by  the  fragments  of  the  Barrel  (inscribed  cylinder)  of  Nabu- 
nahid  discovered  at  Mugheir,  the  ancient  Ur,  now  preserved  in  the 
British  Museum.1  We  learn  from  this,  in  effect,  that  when  Saga- 
raktiyas,  a  king  of  the  first  historical  dynasty  of  the  Chaldaeans, 
who  was  certainly  contemporaneous  with  the  kings  of  the  ancient 
empire  in  Egypt,  reconstructed  the  pyramidal  temple  of  the  goddess 
Anunit,  called  Ulbar,  situated  in  that  part  of  Sippara  known  as 
Agane*,  he  made  certain  mysterious  tablets  in  imitation  of  those  car- 
ried by  Xisuthrus  from  Larsam  (modern  Senkereti),  his  native  city, 

1  Vid.  1st  Rawl.  PI.  69. 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  105 

to  Sippara,  and  buried  them  under  the  corner-stone  of  the  temple 
Ulbar.  These  tables  were  probably  thought  to  be  copies  of  those 
that  had  been  buried  at  the  time  of  the  deluge,  and  thus  the  king, 
himself  really  historical,  thought  to  give  to  his  reconstructed  edifice 
a  more  august  consecration  in  realizing  a  fabulous  tradition.  In 
the  course  of  centuries  these  tables  buried  by  Sagaraktiyas  had 
become  themselves  famous  and  legendary  ;  they  had  come  to  be 
regarded  probably  as  the  originals  of  those  of  Larsam,  hidden  for 
the  first  time  by  Xisuthrus.  Thus,  at  an  epoch  anterior  to  the  thir- 
teenth century  before  our  era,  the  king  Kuri-galzu,  who  appertained 
to  the  fourth  or  fifth  dynasty  of  Berosus,  made  excavations  in  the 
mass  of  the  pyramid  in  search  of  these  tables,  but  without  success. 
Similar  labors  were  undertaken  by  the  kings  of  later  periods,  always 
for  the  same  purpose,  yet  with  no  result.  It  was  only  at  the  period 
shortly  before  the  ruin  of  the  Babylonian  power  that  Nabunahid, 
after  protracted  efforts,  succeeded  finally  in  discovering  the  tables 
buried  by  Sagaraktiyas."  l 

M.  Lenormant  then  gives  a  translation  of  those  portions  of  Nabu- 
nahid's  inscription  that  relate  to  these  mysterious  tablets,  supply, 
ing  occasional  expressions  where  the  lines  are  broken,  the  sense 
being  obvious ;  and  these  portions  of  the  text  are  too  important  not 
to  find  a  place  here.  Instead  of  M.  Lenormant's  version,  however, 
I  take  for  basis  that  of  Dr.  J.  Oppert,  as  improved  by  M.  J. 
Menant,  recurring  to  M.  Lenormant's  translation  in  certain  places, 
where  his  rendering  is  more  clear  than  others : 2  — 

"  The  tables  of  Larsam  had  been  deposited  under  the  foundation- 
stone  (  Temiri)  of  the  temple  Ulbar,  at  Agane,  in  ancient  times,  by 
Sagaraktiyas,  king  of  Babylon,  and  Naram-Sin,  his  son,  my  prede- 
cessor; they  had  not  seen  the  light  before  the  glorious  days  of 
Nabunahid,  king  of  Babylon.  Kuri-galzu,  king  of  Babylon,  who 
preceded  me,  made  search  for  them,  but  he  did  not  find  the  corner- 
stone of  the  temple  Ulbar,  and  thus  he  made  this  inscription  :  'I 
have  searched  for  the  corner-stone,  and  I  have  not  found  it.'  Assur- 
akhi-idin  (Assarhaddon),  king  of  the  country  of  Assur  (Assyria), 
king  of  legions,  made  search  for  them."  (Vid.  col.  ii.  11.  28-35.) 

Three  lines  are  wanting  here,  after  which  the  inscription  con- 
tinues :  — 

"  Nabu-kudurri-ussur  (Nebuchadnezzar),  king  of  Babylon,  son  of 
Nabu-bal-usur,  my  predecessor,  with  the  aid  of  his  army,  searched 
for  the  foundation-stone  of  the  temple  Ulbar,  and  did  not  find  it. 

1  Frag,  de  Berose,  pp.  291-293. 

2  For  Menant's  version  see  Babylone  et  la  Chaldee,  pp.  256-258. 


106  HAR-MOAD. 

And  I,  Nabunahid,  king  of  Babylon,  restorer  of  Bit  Saggater  and 
of  Bit-Zida,  in  my  victorious  years,  adoring  Istar  of  Agane,  my 
mistress,  I  have  caused  a  pit  to  be  excavated.  The  gods  Shamas 
and  Bin  directing  me,  I  have  searched  for  the  corner-stone  of  the 
temple  Ulbar,  for  my  own  happiness.  With  the  constancy  worthy 
of  a  king,  I  have  directed  my  army  in  the  search  for  this  founda- 
tion-stone, where  Nebuchadnezzar  during  three  years  (180  days?) 
had  opened  a  trench  for  the  excavations.  They  have  explored  to 
the  right  and  to  the  left,  before  and  behind  ;  and  I  have  searched, 
and  I  have  not  found  it.  Then  they  say  :  c  We  have  searched  for 
this  foundation-stone,  and  we  have  not  found  it.  The  tempest  of 
waters  has  inundated  everything  and  has  ruined  all.'  "  (Col.  ii.  11. 
40-57.) 

There  occurs  now  a  long  break  in  the  inscription.  But  it  ap- 
pears that  it  gave  an  account  of  a  second  search,  under  the  auspices 
of  Nabunahid ;  for,  where  in  the  third  column  the  text  becomes 
legible  again,  this  monarch  goes  on  to  say :  — 

..."  the  temple  of  Sin  .  .  .  and  this  temple  ...  of  the  tem- 
ple Ulbar  .  .  .  for  the  construction  of  this  temple  .  .  .  /  have 
found  the  corner-stone  of  the  temple  Ulbar,  and  have  read  the  name 
of  Sagaraktiyas  at  the  bottom  "  (Col.  iii.  11.  15—22.) 

Then  follows  the  private  inscription  of  Sagaraktiyas  himself,  as 
copied  by  Nabunahid  :  — 

44  Sagaraktiyas,  veritable  shepherd,  august  lord  .  .  .  me.  I  say 
this :  The  god  Shamas  and  the  goddess  Anunit  have  called  me  to 
govern  the  country  and  the  people ;  they  have  filled  my  hand  with 
the  tributes  from  all  nations.  I  say  this :  The  temple  of  light, 
the  temple  of  Shamas,  my  lord,  at  Sippara,  and  the  temple  Ulbar 
of  Anunit,  my  mistress,  at  Sippara,  had  been  overthrown  even  to 
the  base,  by  Za-bu-um  in  the  days  remote.  I  have  cleared  away 
the  basement,  I  have  laid  bare  the  foundations,  I  have  removed  the 
heaps  of  earth,  I  have  disengaged  the  walls,  I  have  completed  the 
protections  of  the  base  ;  I  have  examined  its  foundations,  I  have 
transported  new  earth,  I  have  leveled  off  the  foundations,  I  have 
raised  above  it  the  first  stage,  to  the  glory  of  Shamas  and  Anunit, 
for  my  happiness.  May  they  accord  to  me  their  constant  protec- 
tion. May  they  prolong  my  days,  may  they  restore  to  me  my  first 
life,  and  may  they  perpetuate  in  this  palace  my  years  of  happiness ; 
may  they  protect  the  writing  of  this  monument,  and  may  they 
enhance  the  glory  of  my  name."  (Col.  iii.  11.  20-40.) 

There  are  various  renderings  of  this  inscription  of  Sagaraktiyas, 
substantially  alike,  but  differing  in  some  details.  Following  this, 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  107 

Nabunabid  continues,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  tables,  in  this  lan- 
guage :  — 

"  It  is  thus  that  I  have  found  .  .  .  the  name  of  Sagaraktiyas, 
king  of  Babylon,  my  predecessor,  who  had  constructed  the  temple 
Ulbar  in  Sippara,  in  honor  of  Anunit,  and  who  had  placed  there 
the  foundation-stone.  I  have  replaced  in  the  foundations  the  Bar- 
rel of  the  East,  the  Barrel  of  the  West,  and  the  foundation-stone  of 
the  front ;  I  have  renewed  the  exterior  of  the  temple  Ulbar,  and  I 
have  achieved  its  magnificence."  (Col.  iii.  11.  41-46.) 

The  monarch  closes  with  a  prayer  to  the  "  Great  Divinity  "  for 
his  own  protection,  and  for  the  protection  of  his  heart's  hope,  his 
son  Bel-sar-ussur  (Belshazzar)  ;  little  dreaming  of  the  sad  destiny 
that  was  so  soon  to  overtake  him,  and  which  has  been  so  graphi- 
cally related  by  the  prophet  Daniel  (chap.  v.). 

SEC.  43.  According  to  the  "  Fragments  of  Berosus,"  the  abode  of 
Xisuthrus  before  the  deluge  had  been  at  Larancha,  the  Larsam  of 
the  inscriptions,  the  modern  Senkereh.  The  writings  buried  at 
Sippara,  as  Berosus  states,  had  been  recovered  after  the  deluge,  and 
considering  the  fact  of  its  being  the  native  city  of  Xisuthrus,  it  is 
natural  to  infer  that  they  had  been  restored  to  Larsam.  This 
explains  the  phrase  "  Tables  of  Larsam,"  as  it  occurs  in  the  inscrip- 
tion of  Nabunahid.  It  was  obviously  a  technical  and  current  ex- 
pression, designating  the  sacred  oracles  preserved  from  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  deluge;  and  it  might  be  applied  as  well  to  officially 
executed  copies  of  those  writings  as  to  the  originals.  All  this 
appears  perfectly  rational,  provided  we  admit  that  any  such  writ- 
ings as  supposed  ever  actually  existed  ;  and  this  is  the  very  point 
which  the  modern  critic  will  be  most  likely  to  contest.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  M.  Lenormant  doubts  the  literal  existence  at  Larsam  of 
any  such  documents ;  hence  he  feels  at  liberty  to  attribute  to  the 
king  Sagaraktiyas  an  act  of  deception,  in  making  certain  "  myste- 
rious tablets  in  imitation  of  Xisuthrus,"  and  in  attempting  to  give 
a  more  "august  consecration"  to  his  reconstructed  edifice,  by  real- 
izing in  this  manner  a  "  fabulous  tradition."  I  think  the  author 
attributes  here  too  much  to  the  negative  tendencies  of  modern  criti- 
cism, and  not  enough  to  the  intelligence  and  sincerity  of  the  great 
men  of  the  past.  Were  such  monarchs  as  Kuri-galzu,  Assarhad- 
don,  and  Nebuchadnezzar,  to  say  nothing  of  Nabunahid,  in  their 
long  and  laborious  search  after  the  "  Tables  of  Larsam,"  after  all 


108 


HAR-MOAD. 


but  the  ignorant  dupes  of  a  pious  trick  performed  by  Sagaraktiyas, 
with  a  view  to  increase  his  own  reputation  and  popularity  ?  But 
it  is  too  late  now  to  doubt  the  real  existence  of  sacred  writings  at 
Babylon,  dating  from  a  period  so  remote  that  it  is  impossible  to 
assign  to  it  any  definite  chronology.  If  the  verbal  extracts  from 
those  documents,  transmitted  to  us  by  Berosus,  were  not  enough, 
then  the  "  Deluge  Tablets  "  and  still  later  the  "  Creation  Tablets," 
discovered  and  translated  by  Mr.  George  Smith,  afford  sufficient  evi- 
dence upon  this  point.  It  is  almost  certain,  in  fact,  from  the  cir- 
cumstances connected  with  these  new  documents  discovered  by  Mr. 
Smith,  that  even  before  the  time  of  Sagaraktiyas,  whom  M.  Menant 
would  assign  to  the  nineteenth  century  B.  c.,  certain  tablets  of  a 
sacred  character  like  those  of  Larsam  were  known  to  exist ;  so  that 
there  is  not  the  slightest  ground  for  attributing  any  unworthy 
motive  or  act  to  this  ancient  monarch.  The  documents  buried  by 
him  beneath  the  corner-stone  of  the  temple  Ulbar  were  genuine  ; 
they  were  the  original  "  Tables  of  Larsam,"  or  official  copies  of 
them.  It  is  upon  this  supposition  alone  that  we  can  account  ration- 
ally for  the  subsequent  and  protracted  efforts  to  rediscover  them, 
as  detailed  in  the  inscription  of  Nabunahid. 

At  first  I  had  seriously  doubted  whether  Nabunahid  actually 
found  the  "  Tables  of  Larsam."  He  alludes  definitely  to  the  cor- 
ner-stone as  being  discovered,  and  even  copies  the  inscription  of 
Sagaraktiyas  relating  to  the  reconstruction  of  the  temple  Ulbar  ; 
but  this  private  document  in  no  sense  answers  to  the  Sacred  Tables, 
for  which  so  long  search  had  been  made.  It  must  be,  then,  the 
"  Barrel  of  the  East "  and  the  "  Barrel  of  the  West,"  replaced  in 
the  foundations  by  Nabunahid,  which  are  to  be  identified  with  the 
"  Tables  of  Larsam."  Such  being  the  case,  they  probably  remain 
there  to  the  present  hour ;  for  the  ruins  of  Sippara  have  never  been 
seriously  disturbed  by  modern  explorations.  I  consider  it  safe  to 
identify  these  Barrels  with  the  Sacred  Tables,  first,  because  they 
are  the  only  documents  alluded  to  as  being  found,  except  the  pri- 
vate inscription  of  Sagaraktiyas  ;  and,  secondly,  for  the  reason  that 
all  the  Assyriologues  seem  to  take  it  for  a  fact  that  the  "  Tables 
of  Larsam  "  were  actually  discovered.  Thus  M.  Lenormant,  as 
previously  cited,  observes :  "  Nabunahid,  after  protracted  labors, 
succeeded  finally  in  discovering  the  tables  buried  by  Sagaraktiyas." 
M.  Menant  remarks :  "  It  was  alone  under  the  last  king  of  Baby- 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  109 

Ion  that  the  tables  of  Sagaraktiyas  were  found."  1  Finally,  Dr. 
Oppert  has  the  following  allusion  to  the  matter  :  "  The  Babylonian 
king  relates  how  he  searched  for  and  found  the  corner-stone  of  the 
temple  Ulbar  at  Sippara,  where  the  tables  of  Larancha  (Larsam) 
had  been  deposited.  All  the  monarchs  before  had  searched  for 
them  in  vain,  Kuri-galzu,  Assarhaddon,  Nebuchadnezzar,  —  all  had 
attempted  to  arrive  at  this  result,  which  the  last  king  of  Babylon 
attained."  2  All  depends  upon  the  point  whether  the  Barrels  of 
the  East  and  West  can  be  properly  identified  with  the  "  Tables  of 
Larsam ;  "  and  here  I  submit  what  appear  to  be  the  opinions  of  the 
eminent  authors  cited. 

Thus,  the  tradition  which  Berosus  records,  to  the  effect  that  cer- 
tain sacred  writings  had  been  preserved  from  destruction  during  the 
deluge  and  transmitted  to  the  post-diluvian  world,  was  in  no  sense 
a  superstitious,  vulgar  notion.  It  was  believed,  and  so  fully  cred- 
ited by  the  early  monarchs  of  Babylon  that  they  were  willing  to 
employ  their  armies  in  undertaking  immense  labors  of  excavations, 
searching  for  supposed  copies  of  them.  They  believed,  moreover, 
in  the  literal  existence  of  the  "  Tables  of  Larsam,"  and  we  trace 
definitely  the  prevalence  of  this  idea  two  thousand  years  before  our 
era.  Still  more,  it  is  necessary  to  admit  that  such  tables  really  ex- 
isted ;  for  the  supposition  is  groundless  which  attributes  an  act  of 
pure  invention  and  deception  to  Sagaraktiyas  with  respect  to  the 
documents  deposited  by  him  in  the  foundations  of  the  temple  Ulbar. 
That  which  confirms  all  is  the  recent  discovery  by  Mr.  Smith  of 
various  tablets  perfectly  answering  to  the  character  of  these  sacred 
writings,  and  whose  original  date  evidently  paralleled  that  of  the 
reign  of  Sagaraktiyas  himself.  We  proceed  now  to  the  investiga- 
tion of  the  general  characteristics  and  the  comparative  analogies 
of  these  ancient  documents  under  the  different  forms  in  which  we 
possess  them,  and  so  far  as  they  relate  to  cosmogony. 

SEC.  44.  Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  theophanies  or  manifes- 
tations of  the  god  Anu,  the  Greek  "  Oannes ;  "  it  is  from  the  sacred 
writings  attributed  to  Oannes  that  Berosus  takes  the  account  rela- 
tive to  the  creation,  which  is  as. follows,  according  to  the  version  of 
Rev.  George  Rawlinson  :  — 

"  In  the  beginning  all  was  darkness  and  water,  and  therein  were  gen- 

1  Babylone  et  la  Chaldee,  p.  97. 

2  Hist.  Chaldee  et  d'Assyrie,  p.  23. 


110 


HAR-MOAD. 


erated  monstrous  animals  of  strange  and  peculiar  forms,  (a)  There 
were  men  with  two  wings,  and  some  even  with  four,  and  with  two 
faces ;  and  others  with  two  heads,  a  man's  and  a  woman's,  on  one 
body  ;  and  there  were  men  with  the  heads  and  the  horns  of  goats, 
and  men  with  hoofs  like  horses,  and  some  with  the  upper  parts  of 
a  man  joined  to  the  lower  parts  of  a  horse,  like  centaurs ;  and  there 
were  bulls  with  human  heads,  dogs  with  four  bodies  and  with  fishes' 
tails,  men  and  horses  with  dogs'  heads,  creatures  with  the  heads 
and  bodies  of  horses,  but  with  the  tails  of  fish,  and  other  animals 
mixing  the  forms  of  various  beasts.  Moreover,  there  were  mon- 
strous fish  and  reptiles  and  serpents,  and  divers  other  creatures, 
which  had  borrowed  something  from  each  other's  shapes,  of  all 
which  the  likenesses  are  still  preserved  in  the  temple  of  Belus.  A 
woman  ruleth  them  all,  by  name  Omarka,  which  is,  in  Chaldee, 
Thalatth,  and  in  Greek,  Thalassa  (or  'the  sea').  Then  Belus 
appeared,  and  split  the  woman  in  twain ;  and  of  the  one  half  of  her 
he  made  the  heaven,  and  of  the  other  half  the  earth  ;  and  the  beasts 
that  were  in  her  he  caused  to  perish. (b)  And  he  split  the  darkness, 
and  divided  the  heaven  and  the  earth  asunder,  and  put  the  world 
in  order ;  and  the  animals  that  could  not  bear  the  light  perished. 
Belus,  upon  this,  seeing  that  the  earth  was  desolate,  yet  teeming 
with  productive  power,  commanded  one  of  the  gods  to  cut  off  his 
head  and  to  mix  the  blood  which  flowed  forth  with  earth,  and  form 
men  therewith,  and  beasts  that  could  bear  the  light.  So  man  was 
made,  and  was  intelligent,  being  a  partaker  of  the  divine  wisdom. 
Likewise  Belus  made  the  stars,  and  the  sun  and  moon,  and  the  five 
planets."  1 

There  are  some  variations  in  the  above  translation  from  that  of 
Cory,  as  copied  by  Mr.  George  Smith.2  I  note  these  differences 
according  to  the  letter  in  the  foregoing  extract.  At  a,  Cory's  ver- 
sion adds  the  words,  "  which  were  produced  of  a  twofold  princi- 
ple." At  6,  Cory  has  the  sentence :  "  All  this  was  an  allegorical 
description  of  nature.  For,  the  whole  universe  consisting  of  mois- 
ture, and  animals  being  continually  generated  therein,  the  deity 
above-mentioned  took  off  his  own  head,  upon  which  the  other  gods 
mixed  the  blood  as  it  gushed  out,  and  from  thence  formed  men. 
On  this  account  it  is  that  they  are  rational,  and  partake  of  divine 
knowledge."  Rev.  Mr.  Rawlinson  takes  this  sentence  to  be  an  in- 
terpolation, and  so  far  as  relates  to  cutting  off  the  head  of  Belus,  and 
the  formation  of  man  from  the  blood  mixed  with  earth,  it  evidently 

1  Vid.  Rawlinson,  Five  Monarchies,  i.  pp.  142,  143. 
8  Chaldcean  Account  of  Genesis,  pp.  40-42. 


MOSAIC   AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  Ill 

is  a  corruption  ;  for  a  like  description  occurs  again  in  a  connection 
more  natural.  The  same  cannot  be  said,  however,  of  the  other  por- 
tion of  the  passage  :  "All  this  was  an  allegorical  description  of 
nature,"  etc.,  which  has  every  appearance  of  being  genuine.  There 
are  some  phrases  employed  where  Cory's  rendering  is  preferable, 
even  if  it  is  not  quite  so  literal,  as,  "  cut  the  woman  asunder,"  in- 
stead of  "  split  the  woman  in  twain  ; "  so,  too,  "  divided  the  dark- 
ness, and  separated  the  heavens  from  the  earth,"  instead  of  "  split 
the  darkness,  and  divided  the  heaven  and  the  earth  asunder."  The 
Babylonian  cosmogony  contemplates  the  work  of  creation  as  a  two- 
fold operation  ;  first,  as  a  process  of  division,  secondly,  as  an  act  of 
generation.  The  same  ideas  are  fundamental  in  the  Mosaic  text. 
The  art-monuments,  representing  the  first  stages  of  creation,  are 
found  to  vary  according  to  one  or  the  other  of  these  ground  concep- 
tions, and  the  language  descriptive  of  the  same  frequently  shows  a 
corresponding  variance,  or  the  same  terms  may  be  taken  in  a  dou- 
ble sense.  Sometimes  the  creative  agent  is  figured  with  sword  in 
hand,  about  to  cut  the  woman  asunder ;  and  at  others,  as  the  mind 
or  spirit  brooding  upon  and  impregnating  the  watery  chaos.  But  I 
wish  to  present  here  a  portion  of  Rev.  Mr.  Rawlinson's  comments 
upon  the  text  of  Berosus,  as  translated  by  him  in  the  foregoing 
extract : — 

"  It  has  been  generally  seen  that  this  cosmogony  bears  a  remark- 
able resemblance  to  the  history  of  creation  contained  in  the  opening 
chapters  of  the  book  of  Genesis.  Some  have  gone  so  far  as  to 
argue  that  the  Mosaic  account  was  derived  from  it.  Others,  who 
reject  this  notion,  suggest  that  a  certain  4  old  Chaldee  tradition ' 
was  4  the  basis  of  them  both.'  If  we  drop  out  the  word  4  Chaldee  ' 
from  this  statement,  it  may  be  regarded  as  fairly  expressing  the 
truth.  The  Babylonian  legend  embodies  a  primeval  tradition  com- 
mon to  all  mankind,  of  which  an  inspired  author  has  given  us  the 
true  ground-work  in  the  first  and  second  chapters  of  Genesis.  What 
is  especially  remarkable  is  the  fidelity,  comparatively  speaking,  with 
which  the  Babylonian  legend  reports  the  facts.  While  the  whole 
tone  and  spirit  of  the  two  accounts,  and  even  the  point  of  view  from 
which  they  are  taken,  differ,  the  general  outline  of  the  narrative  in 
each  is  nearly  the  same."  l 

The  chief  points  in  which  the  author  considers  the  Mosaic  and 
Babylonian  cosmogonies  different  are  more  definitely  stated  in  the 
two  notes  appended  to  the  above,  which  I  subjoin  :  — 
1  Five  Monarchies,  i.  pp,  143,  144. 


112 


HAR-MOAD. 


"  The  Chaldee  narrative  is  extravagant  and  grotesque ;  the 
Mosaical  is  miraculous,  as  a  true  account  of  creation  must  be  :  but 
it  is  without  unnecessary  marvels,  and  its  tone  is  sublime  and  sol- 
emn." "  In  Genesis  the  point  of  view  is  the  divine  :  '  In  the 
beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth,  and  the  Spirit  of 
G-od  moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters.'  In  the  Chaldee  legend 
the  point  of  view  is  the  physical  and  mundane,  God  being  only 
brought  in  after  a  while  as  taking  a  certain  part  in  creation." 

That  which  is  really  "  grotesque  "  in  the  Babylonian  account  is 
the  long  and  detailed  description  of  the  preexisting  chaos,  which, 
in  the  Mosaic  text,  is  cut  down  to  a  single  verse  :  "  And  the  earth 
was  without  form  and  void  ;  and  darkness  was  upon  the  face  of  the 
deep.  And  the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters  " 
(Gen.  i.  2).  In  a  literary  point  of  view  one  cannot  hesitate  to  pre- 
fer the  simple  grandeur  of  the  Mosaic  description,  although  the  fun- 
damental idea  is  substantially  the  same  in  both  narratives  as  con- 
cerns this  chaos.  It  might  be  some  justification  of  the  Babylonian 
description  of  the  preexisting  chaos  to  say  that  it  is  "  allegorical," 
as  is  especially  claimed  for  it  in  Cory's  version  of  this  document. 
Another  element  of  the  grotesque  here  is  the  personification  of 
chaos  under  the  form  of  a  woman  ;  but  this  arose  from  the  funda- 
mental doctrine  of  the  "  active  and  passive  powers  of  the  universe," 
so  widely  held  in  antiquity,  according  to  which  matter  was  con- 
ceived as  passive,  as  female,  while  mind  or  spirit  was  regarded  as 
active,  and  as  male.  There  is  here  really  no  difference  in  doctrine, 
but  rather  in  the  habits  of  thought  leading  to  a  different  mode  of 
treating  the  subject,  in  the  apprehension  of  the  most  important  facts 
to  be  presented,  whether  the  original  chaos,  or  the  subsequent  pro- 
cess of  creation.  The  Mosaic  account  curtails  the  description  of 
chaos,  while  the  Babylonian  gives  to  this  subject  by  far  the  great- 
est prominence.  The  one  describes  the  creative  process  minutely, 
while  the  other  sums  up  all  in  a  few  sentences.  Nor  is  there  an 
essential  doctrinal  difference  as  relates  to  the  fundamental  process 
of  creation.  It  is  conceived  in  both  accounts  as  a  process  of  divi- 
sion ;  division  of  the  primordial  chaos,  heaven  being  formed  of  one 
portion  and  the  earth  of  the  other.  That  which  really  constitutes 
"  the  beginning,"  a  preexisting  chaos,  on  one  hand,  or  the  first  cre- 
ative act  calling  forth  the  chaos  from  nonentity,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  the  one  point,  if  anywhere,  in  respect  to  which  a  wide  doc- 
trinal distinction  is  to  be  discovered.  The  Babylonian  system 


MOSAIC   AND   BABYLONIAN   COSMOGONY.  113 

assumes  the  watery  chaos  as  this  "  beginning  ; "  but  as  usually  in- 
terpreted the  Mosaic  account  assumes  an  absolute  creation  of  chaos 
as  the  beginning. 

SEC.  45.  The  one  great  question  here  regards  the  assumption  of 
a  purely  spiritual  existence  as  prior  to  all  matter  on  one  side,  or 
the  eternity  of  mind  and  matter  as  one  twofold  principle,  on  the 
other.  The  Babylonians  held  the  doctrine  last  indicated ;  while 
Biblical  exegetes,  for  the  most  part,  give  a  construction  to  the  very 
first  verse  of  Genesis  which  implies  the  opposite  idea.  M.  F. 
Lenormant  has  correctly  apprehended  this  whole  subject  in  his 
excellent  "  Commentary  upon  Berosus,"  and  his  views  merit  a  care- 
ful study :  — 

"  We  do  not  believe  ourselves  wanting  in  respect  for  the  Holy 
Writings,  in  revealing  the  striking  analogies  in  form  which  exist 
between  the  Biblical  and  Babylonian  cosmogonies.  These  analogies 
are  such  in  all  their  characteristic  details  that  it  is  impossible  for 
us  not  to  consider  the  account  of  creation  in  Genesis,  as  well  as  that 
of  the  deluge,  as  ante-Mosaic  documents  preserved  by  oral  tradi- 
tion, and  inserted  in  the  first  book  of  the  Pentateuch ;  documents 
the  existence  of  which  was  admitted  and  demonstrated  in  the  sev- 
enteenth century  by  a  great  Catholic  critic,  Richard  Simon,  of 
whom  Bossuet  has  well  said,  that  hardihood  in  exegesis  inclines  to 
a  severe  orthodoxy.  In  my  eyes,  these  two  documents  constitute 
an  ancient  traditional  recital,  carried  from  Chaldsea  by  the  Abra- 
hamites  in  their  migration  from  Ur  to  Canaan." 

"But  if  the  redacteur  of  Genesis  has  admitted  this  recital  into 
his  work,  almost  without  any  changes,  he  has  given  it  a  sense  en- 
tirely new,  and  diametrically  opposed  to  that  held  by  the  Chaldaean 
priesthood.  An  abyss,  in  effect,  separates  the  two  conceptions  of 
the  Biblical  and  Babylonian  cosmogony,  notwithstanding  the  strik- 
ing resemblances  in  the  external  form.  On  one  side  we  have  the 
eternally  existent  material  organized  by  a  demiurge,  who  emanates 
from  its  own  bosom  ;  on  the  other  the  universe  is  created  ex  nihilo 
by  the  infinite  power  of  a  divinity  purely  spiritual.  To  give  to 
this  recital,  repeated  in  the  sanctuaries  of  Chaldsea,  a  sense  entirely 
new;  to  transform  the  pantheistic  conceptions  the  most  material 
and  gross  into  the  light  of  true  religion ;  ...  it  has  sufficed  for  the 
redacteur  of  Genesis  to  add  at  the  commencement  of  the  whole, 
and  before  the  description  of  the  chaos,  with  which  the  Chaldaean 
and  Phoanician  cosmogonies  began,  this  simple  verse :  4  In  the  be- 
ginning God  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth.'  Thus,  the  free  act 
of  a  spiritual  creator  is  placed  before  the  existence  even  of  chaos, 
which  the  pagan  pantheism  believed  anterior  to  all ;  this  chaos,  the 


114  HAR-MOAD. 

first  principle  for  the  Chaldseans,  from  whence  even  the  gods  them- 
selves emanated,  became  a  creation  that  the  Eternal  caused  to  appear 
in  time." 

"  As  the  lamented  Abb£  Le  Hir,  with  his  profound  philological 
science,  has  observed :  <•  God  commences  by  drawing  from  nonentity 
the  elementary  material.  All  other  interpretation  of  the  first  verse 
of  Genesis  is  without  support.  It  is  not  without  intention,  that 
Moses  has  employed  the  verb  Bara  (s~o),  opposing  it  to  other  verbs 
occurring  in  the  same  account  with  the  sense  of  '  to  make,  to  fash- 
ion, to  form.'  The  first  term  {Bara)  expresses  more  than  this. 
In  the  constant  usage  of  the  language,  it  denotes  an  operation  more 
divine,  more  radical,  more  creative  than  the  others.  In  the  present 
instance,  it  cannot  be  distinguished  from  them  in  sense,  if  it  does 
not  express  the  idea  of  creation,  properly  speaking."  1 

It  is  impossible  not  to  admire  the  profound  insight  and  critical 
ability  exhibited  in  these  extracts;  and  I  wish  I  could  conscien- 
tiously admit  the  author's  remarks  to  be  perfectly  sound  throughout. 
One  thing  is  obvious :  he  has  seen  clearly  the  exact  point  of  mate- 
rial difference,  if  any,  between  the  Mosaic  and  Chaldaean  cosmog- 
onies. But  M.  Lenormant's  argument,  based  upon  the  sense  of  the 
Hebrew  verb  Bara  O-TQ),  is,  in  my  view,  a  failure;  although  the 
meaning  attached  to  this  term  by  him,  that  of  a  creation  ex  nihilo, 
is  usually  maintained  by  exegetes.  The  reasons  for  doing  so,  how- 
ever, are  rather  theological  than  etymological.  All  Hebrew  schol- 
ars admit  that  the  primary  sense  of  Bara  is  "  to  cut,  to  cut  out, 
to  carve,"  and  thence  "  to  form,  to  create,  by  cutting  or  carving," 
a  process  implying  necessarily  a  preexisting  material.  But  that 
which  completely  refutes  the  arguments  of  M.  Lenormant  and  the 
Abbe  Le  Hir  is  the  fact  that  Bara  occurs  again  in  the  twenty-first 
verse,  applied  to  the  creation  of  whales :  "  And  God  created  great 
whales,  and  every  living  creature  that  moveth,"  etc.  It  would  be 
ridiculous  to  maintain  here  a  creation  ex  nihilo.  I  shall  return  to 
the  consideration  of  this  important  word  Bara,  important  for  the 
Babylonian  as  well  as  Hebrew  cosmogony,  in  another  connection. 
For  the  present,  and  so  far  as  relates  to  a  comparative  analysis  of 
the  two  systems,  it  is  evident  the  primitive  idea  was  one  and  the 
same  in  both  accounts. 

No  one  can  doubt  that,  as  a  literary  production,  and  as  an  appro- 
priate description  of  the  work  of  creation,  the  Mosaic  account  is 

1  Frag,  de  Berose,  pp.  72-74. 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  115 

infinitely  superior  to  the  Babylonian.  The  distinguishing  charac- 
teristics of  the  Hebrew  narrative  are  its  extreme  brevity  on  all 
points,  and  the  perfect  order  and  consecutiveness  in  the  development 
of  the  system.  The  Babylonian  account,  on  the  contrary,  expands, 
amplifies  at  each  stage,  and  there  is  confusion  in  the  order  of  events 
described.  We  see  this  disposition  to  enlarge,  to  go  into  details,  in 
the  description  of  chaos,  as  given  by  Berosus.  In  the  documents 
translated  by  Mr.  George  Smith,  the  same  characteristic  will  appear 
at  other  stages  of  the  narrative.  If  we  had  the  entire  Babylonian 
record  in  a  state  of  complete  preservation,  doubtless  it  would  occupy 
many  chapters,  instead  of  one  or  two,  as  found  in  Genesis.  Has 
the  Babylonian  narrative  been  enlarged  and  amplified  from  a  briefer 
original  ?  or,  rather,  has  the  Mosaic  account  been  abridged  from 
primitive  documents  much  more  extensive?  These  are  matters 
very  difficult  to  decide.  My  opinion  is,  that  the  Babylonian  system 
has  been  more  or  less  corrupted  by  additions,  and  that  there  were 
originally  in  the  Hebrew  documents  some  details  which  do  not  now 
appear. 

SEC.  46.  The  most  valuable  among  Mr.  Smith's  important  dis- 
coveries in  the  field  of  cuneiform  researches  is  the  "ChakUean 
Account  of  Genesis."  With  Mr.  Smith's  translation,  together  with 
the  chief  portions  of  the  original  text,  as  published  in  Dr.  Delitzsch's 
recent  work,1  it  is  possible  to  gain  quite  a  clear  idea  of  this  new 
addition  to  cuneiform  as  well  as  to  Biblical  literature.  As  the 
tablets  are  quite  fragmentary,  affording  but  few  continuous  narra- 
tives, I  select  the  portions  more  with  reference  to  other  accounts 
than  to  the  order  given  them  by  the  translator.  The  following 
relate  to  the  primordial  chaos,  for  the  most  part,  corresponding  to 
the  second  verse  of  Genesis,  and  to  the  main  portion  of  the  "  Frag- 
ments of  Berosus,"  already  given  :  — 

A.  "  (1)  When  above,  were  not  raised  the  heavens ;  (2)  and 
below  on  the  earth  a  plant  had  not  grown  up ;  (3)  the  abyss  also 
had  not  broken  open  their  boundaries;  (4)  the  chaos  (or  water) 
Tiamat  (the  sea)  was  the  producing-mother  of  the  whole  of  them. 
(5)  Those  waters  at  the  beginning  were  ordained ;  but  (6)  a  tree 
had  not  grown,  a  flower  had  not  unfolded.  (7)  When  the  gods  had 
not  sprung  up,  any  one  of  them  ;  (8)  a  plant  had  not  grown,  and 

1  Assyrische  Lesestiicke,  etc.,  Leipzig,  1876,  pp.  40-45.  Probably  the  text  has 
been  published  in  England,  but  I  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  it  from  this 
source. 


116  HAR-MOAD.. 


order  did  not  exist ;  (9)  were  made  also  the  great  gods,  (10)  the 
gods  Lahmu  and  Lahamu  they  caused  to  come  .  .  .  (11)  and  they 
grew  ...  (12)  the  gods  Sar  and  Kisar  were  made  .  .  .  (13)  A 
course  of  days,  and  a  long  time  passed  .  .  .  (14)  the  god  Anu  .  .  . 
(15)  the  god  Sar,  and  "*.-.. 

The  chaos  personified  by  a  woman,  as  in  Berosus'  account,  is  first 
described  ;  then  the  generation  of  the  principal  cosmical  potencies 
in  pairs,  as  Lahmu  and  Lahamu,  Sar  and  Kisar,  after  which  a  course 
of  days,  a  long  time  passes.  This  evidently  marks  the  first  stage, 
answering  to  Gen.  i.  1,  2,  or  perhaps  to  1-5,  including  the  first  crea- 
tion day  of  Moses.  But  I  think  the  whole  should  be  confined  to 
the  first  two  verses  of  Genesis.  We  see  here  an  entire  absence  of 
the  description  of  strange  and  monstrous  forms  inhabiting  the  pri- 
mal chaos,  such  as  we  find  in  Berosus.  There  exists  something 
corresponding  to  this,  however,  in  the  Cutha  legend  relating  to  the 
same  subject,  where  the  lines  10-23,  as  rendered  by  Mr.  Smith,  read 
as  follows :  — 

B.  "  Men  with  the  bodies  of  birds  of  the  desert,  human  beings 
with  the  faces  of  ravens ;  these  the  great  gods  created,  and  in  the 
earth  the  gods  created  for  them  a  dwelling.  Tamat  (Tiamat)  gave 
unto  them  strength,  their  life  the  mistress  of  the  gods  raised,  in  the 
midst  of  the  earth  they  grew  up  and  became  great,  and  increased 
in  number  ;  seven  kings  brothers  of  the  same  family,  six  thousand 
in  number  were  their  people  ;  Banini  their  father  was  king,  their 
mother  the  queen  was  Milili,  their  eldest  brother  who  went  before 
them,  Mimangab  was  his  name,  their  second  brother  Midudu  was 
his  name  (the  names  of  the  other  brothers  wanting)."2 

The  foregoing  passage  shows  that  Berosus  has  faithfully  reported 
the  Babylonian  conceptions,  relative  to  the  monstrous  inhabitants 
of  chaos,  and  moreover  that,  they  dwelt  upon  the  earth.  This  cor- 
responds to  Genesis ;  for  it  was  the  earth  which  was  "  without 
form,  and  void,"  not  the  heaven.  Tiamat  ruled  over  them  on  the 
earth,  also  giving  them  life  and  strength,  so  that  they  grew  up  in 
the  midst  of  the  earth,  and  became  great,  increasing  in  number. 
We  proceed  now  to  that  portion  of  the  tablets  pertaining  to  the 
heavenly  bodies,  corresponding  to  the  verses  14-18  of  the  Mosaic 
narrative :  — 

O.  "  (1)  It  was  delightful,  all  that  was  fixed  by  the  great  gods. 
(2)  Stars,  their  appearance  (in  figures)  of  animals  he  arranged. 


Chaldcean  Account  of  Genesis,  pp.  62,  63.  a  Ibid.,  p.  103. 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  117 

(3)  To  fix  the  year  through  the  observation  of  their  constellations, 

(4)  twelve  months  (or  signs)  of  stars  in  three  rows  he  arranged, 

(5)  from  the  day  when  the  year  commences  unto  the  close.     (6) 
He  marked  the  positions  of  the  wandering  stars  (planets)  to  shine 
in  their  courses,  (7)  that  they   may  not  do  injury,  and  may  not 
trouble  any  one,  (8)  the  positions    of  the  gods  Bel  and  Hea  he 
fixed  with  him.     (9)  And  he  opened  the  great  gates  in  the  dark- 
ness shrouded,   (10)   the  fastenings   were  strong  on  the  left  and 
right.     (11)  In  its  mass  (that  is,  the  lower  chaos)  he  made  a  boil- 
ing, (12)  the  god  Uru  (the  moon)  he  caused  to  rise  out,  the  night 
he  overshadowed,  (13)  to  fix  it  also  for  the  light  of  the  night  until 
the  shining  of  the  day,  (14)  that  the  month  might  not  be  broken, 
and  in  its  amount  be  regular.     (15)  At  the  beginning  of  the  month, 
at  the  rising  of  the  night,  (16)  his  horns  are  breaking  through  to 
shine  on  the  heaven.     (17)  On  the  seventh  day  to  a  circle  he  be- 
gins to  swell,  (18)  and  stretches  toward  the  dawn  further.     (19) 
When  the  god  Shamas  (the  sun)  in  the  horizon  of  heaven,  in  the 
east"1  .  .  . 

Mr.  Smith  has  sufficiently  pointed  out  the  resemblances  existing 
between  the  foregoing  passage  and  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  fourth 
day  of  creation.  This  part  of  the  Babylonian  narrative  was  consid- 
erably longer  than  is  shown  here,  yet  it  all  appertained  to  the  same 
subject,  which  is  condensed  in  Genesis  into  five  or  six  verses,  af- 
fording another  illustration  of  the  disproportion  of  matter  included 
in  the  two  accounts.  The  next  portion  of  the  Babylonian  text,  ren- 
dered by  Mr.  Smith,  is  too  fragmentary  to  be  of  much  service  to  us. 
It  relates  to  the  production  of  "  living  creatures,"  and  corresponds 
to  the  sixth  day  of  creation  as  described  in  Genesis.  There  should 
be  here  an  account  of  the  creation  of  man;  but  this  part  of  the 
tablet  is  almost  wholly  destroyed.  The  following,  however,  has 
some  relation  to  the  subject :  — 

D.  "  (5)  The  god  Ziku  (noble  life)  quickly  called ;  director  of 
purity,  (6)  good  kinsman,  master  of  perception  and  right,  (7)  causer 
to  be  fruitful  and  abundant,  establisher  of  fertility,  (8)  another  to 
us  has  come  up,  and  greatly  increased,  (9)  in  thy  powerful  advance 
spread  over  him  good,  (10)  may  he  speak,  may  he  glorify,  may  he 
exalt  his  majesty.  (11)  The  god  Mirku  (noble  crown)  in  concern 
raised  a  protection,  (12)  lord  of  noble  lips,  savior  from  death,  (13) 
of  the  gods  imprisoned,  the  accomplisher  of  restoration,  (14)  his 
pleasure  he  established,  he  fixed  upon  the  gods  his  enemies,  (15) 
to  fear  them  lie  made  man,  (16)  the  breath  of  life  was  in  him.  (17) 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  69,  70. 


118  HAR-MOAD. 

May  he  be  established,  and  may  his  will  not  fail,  (18)  in  the  mouth 
of  the  dark  races  which  his  hand  has  made.  (19)  The  god  of  noble 
lips  with  his  five  fingers  sin  may  he  cut  off ;  (20)  who  with  his 
noble  charms  removes  the  evil  curse.  (21)  The  god  Libzu  wise 
among  the  gods,  who  had  chosen  his  possession,  (22)  the  doing  of 
evil  shall  not  come  out  of  him,  (23)  established  in  the  company  of 
the  gods,  he  rejoices  their  heart." 

We  give  below  the  address  of  the  divinity  to  the  newly-created 
human  pair,  before  the  event  of  their  transgression. 

E.  "  (8)  Every  day  thy  god  thou  shalt  approach  (or  invoke,)  (9) 
sacrifice,  prayer  of  the  mouth  and  instruments  .  .  .  (10)  to  thy 
god  in  reverence  thou  shalt  carry.    (11)  Whatever  shall  be  suitable 
for  divinity,  (12)  supplication,  humility,  and  bowing  of  the  face, 
(13)  fire  thou  shalt  give  to  him,  and  thou  shalt  bring  tribute,  (14) 
and  in  the  fear  also  of  god  thou  shalt  be  holy.     (15)  In  thy  know- 
ledge  and  afterwards   in   the  tablets  (writing),  (16)  worship  and 
goodness  shall  be  raised,  .  .  .  (19)  the  fear  of  god  thou  shalt  not 
leave,  .  .  .   (20)  the  fear  of  the  angels  thou  shalt  live  in  ...   (23) 
When  thou  shalt  speak  also  he  will  give."  3  .  .  . 

That  which  related  to  the  fall  of  man  is  wanting ;  but  the  .purse 
pronounced  upon  man  after  the  transgression  is  thus  rendered  :  — 

F.  "  (12)  Lord  of  the  earth  his  name  called  out,  the  father  Elu 
(13)  in  the  ranks  of  the  angels  pronounced  their  curse.     (14)  The 
god  Hea  heard  and  his  liver  was  angry,  (15)  because  his  man  had 
corrupted  his  purity.     (16)  He  like  me,  also  Hea,  may  he  punish 
him,  (17)  the  course  of  my  (his?)  issue  all  of  them  may  he  remove, 
and  (18)  all  my  (his  ?)  seed  may  he  destroy.     (19)  In  the  language 
of  the  fifty  great   gods,  (20)   by  his   fifty  names  he   called,  and 
turned  away  in  anger  from  him.     (21)  May  he  be  conquered  and  at 
once  cut  off.  (22)  Wisdom  and  knowledge  hostilely  may  they  injure 
him.  (23)    May  they  put  at  enmity  also  father  and  son  and  may 
they  plunder.     (24)  To  king,  ruler,  and  governor,  may  they  bend 
the  ear.     (25)  May  they  cause  anger  also  to  the  lord  of  the  gods, 
Merodach.     (26)  His  land  may  it  bring  forth,  but  he  not  touch  it ; 
(27)  his  desire  shall  be  cut  off,  and  his  will  be  unanswered  ;  (28) 
the  opening  of  his  mouth  no  god  shall  take  notice  of ;  (29)  his  back 
shall  be   broken  and  not   healed ;   (30)   at  his  urgent  trouble   no 
god  shall  receive  him  ;    (31)   his  heart  shall  be  poured  out ;   and 
his  mind  shall  be  troubled  ;  (32)  to  sin  and  wrong  his  face  shall 
come."  3  .  .  . 

SEC.  47.  The  primeval  chaos  of  the  Babylonian  cosmogony,  as 
1  Chald.  Acct.  of  Genesis,  pp.  82,  83.        2  Ibid.,  pp.  78,  79.       *  Ibid.,  pp.  84,  85. 


MOSAIC   AND   BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  119 

portrayed  to  us  in  the  "  Fragments  of  Berosus,"  was  inhabited  by 
various  species  of  monstrous  composition,  of  which  it  is  necessary  to 
give  here,  if  possible,  some  rational  explanation,  (a)  "  There  ap- 
peared men,  some  of  whom  were  furnished  with  two  wings,  others 
with  four,  and  with  two  faces.  They  had  one  body,  but  two  heads ; 
the  one  that  of  a  man,  the  other  of  a  woman."  It  is  perfectly  easy 
to  recognize  here  the  representations  of  the  original  androgynous 
divinity,  symbolizing  the  "  twofold  principle"  from  which  everything 
proceeds ;  and  which  so  often  appear  upon  the  art  monuments. 
Ann  and  Anatu  were  conceived  as  such  androgynous  principle ;  and 
were  assimilated  respectively  to  heaven  and  earth,  the  upper  and 
lower  hemispheres.  Alluding  to  Anu,  Mr.  Smith  remarks :  "  He 
represents  the  universe  as  the  upper  and  lower  regions,  and  when 
these  were  divided,  the  upper  region  or  heaven  was  called  Anu, 
while  the  lower  region  or  earth  was  called  Anatu  ;  Anatu  being 
the  female  principle  or  the  wife  of  Anu."  "  When  Anu  repre- 
sents height  and  heaven,  Anatu  represents  death  and  earth ;  she  is 
also  lady  of  darkness,  the  mother  of  the  god  Hea,  the  mother  pro- 
ducing heaven  and  earth."  l  The  same  notion  was  expressed  by 
the  two  halves  of  the  sphere.  When  Anu  represented  the  superior 
heaven,  Anatu  was  put  for  the  inferior  hemisphere.  (5)  "  Other 
human  figures  were  to  be  seen  with  the  legs  and  horns  of  a  goat." 
The  god  Pan,  and  the  satyrs  generally,  were  usually  figured  in  this 
form  upon  the  monuments.  Pan  was  put  often  for  the  cosmos,  or 
world-all,  and  his  flute  is  supposed  by  some  to  refer  to  the  harmony 
of  the  spheres,  (c)  "  Some  had  horses' feet,  while  others  united  the 
hind  quarters  of  a  horse  with  the  body  of  a  man,  resembling  in 
shape  the  hippocentaurs."  The  celestial  horses,  as  found  upon  our 
modern  sphere,  answer  precisely  to  this  description,  (c?)  "  Bulls 
likewise  were  bred  there  with  the  heads  of  men."  The  human- 
headed  bulls  of  Assyria  are  well  known.  These  were  the  Lamassu 
of  the  inscriptions.  Two  classes  were  recognized  ;  the  Lamassu  of 
heaven  and  the  Lamassu  of  earth.  Those  of  heaven  could  be  no 
other  than  the  celestial  Taurus.  (e)  "And  dogs  with  fourfold 
bodies  terminated  in  their  extremities  with  the  tails  of  fishes."  On 
the  ancient  spheres,  two  dogs  were  represented  as  guardians  of  the 
limits  of  the  sun's  northern  and  southern  course  ;  and  it  is  probable 
there  is  a  reference  to  them  in  this  passage.  They  were  conceived 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  54,  55. 


120  HAR-MOAD. 

always  as  having  a  monstrous  form.  (/)  "  Horses  also  with  the  heads 
of  dogs."  Such  figures  may  have  existed  upon  the  ancient  sphere, 
and  upon  some  art  monuments,  but  I  am  not  able  to  recall  any  such 
representations.  (<?)  "  Men,  too,  and  other  animals,  with  the  heads 
and  bodies  of  horses,  and  the  tails  of  fishes."  We  naturally  call  to 
mind  here  the  centaurs  and  the  constellation  Capricorn  ;  both  apper- 
taining to  the  sphere,  and  similar  to  this  description.  (A)  "  In  addi- 
tion to  these,  fishes,  reptiles,  serpents,  with  other  monstrous  animals." 
The  constellations  offer  exact  correspondences  to  all  these  forms. 
In  the  majority  of  instances,  then,  it  would  be  easy  to  identify 
these  monstrous  animals  with  those  figured  even  upon  the  modern 
sphere,  and  it  is  probable  the  ancient  sphere  contained  many  more 
of  them. 

"  A  woman  ruleth  them  all,  by  name  Omarka,  which  is  in  Chal- 
dee  Thalatth,  and  in  Greek  Thalassa,  or  4  the  sea. ' '  Sir  H.  Raw- 
linson  and  M.  F.  Lenormant  agree  in  identifying  the  name  Omarka 
with  the  Um-Uruk  of  the  inscriptions,  signifying  "mother  of 
Erech."  As  for  the  other  name,  Thalatth,  Sir  H.  Rawlinson  holds 
the  following:  "Now  the  goddess  thus  indicated  is  well  known  to 
the  Assyrian  student  under  the  name  of  Te-li-ta.  .  .  .  She  is  the 
goddess  of  the  Bar  {Bara),  which  is  the  first  element  in  the  name 
of  Bar-zip  (Bara-zip)  or  Borsippa."  l  Sir  Henry's  authority  for 
assimilating  Te-li-ta  to  the  goddess  Bara  appears  to  be  the  cunei- 
form phrase  which  reads  thus:  an  nin  bara  —  te-li-ta,  "the  divine 
mistress  Bara  is  Te-li-ta"  2  It  is  evident,  then,  that  the  Thalatth 
of  Berosus,  identified  by  Mr.  Smith  with  the  Tiamat,  or  Ti-sal-mat, 
of  the  "  Creation  Tablets,"  may  be  considered  one  with  the  "  mis- 
tress Bara  "  of  the  cuneiform  text  just  cited. 

The  Accadian  Bara  signifies  "  altar,  glory  ;  to  perfume,  perfume  " 
(Rep.  318)  ;  and  it  has  a  variant  often  confounded  with  it,  with 
the  values  Sara,  "  to  commence,  commencement"  (Rep.  319).  As 
the  term  Bara  is  composite,  it  may  be  resolved  into  its  two  ele- 
ments, the  first  of  which  is  Ba,  "  to  tear,  to  cut,  to  fabricate,  to 
labor  "  (Rep.  108)  ;  and  the  second  Ra,  "  inundation,  deluge,"  etc. 
(Rep.  303).  The  waters  of  the  deluge  were  assimilated  frequently 
to  those  of  the  primal  chaos ;  and  the  god  Hea,  who  appears  so 
prominently  in  the  "Deluge  Tablets,"  is  represented  also  as  im- 

1  Vid.  Rawl.  Herod.,  i.  p.  502,  and  note  3. 

2  Vid.  Rawl.  PI.  59,  Revs.  1.16. 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  121 

pregnating  the  water  of  chaos.1  The  two  elements,  therefore,  Ba, 
"  to  cut,  to  divide,"  and  Ra,  "  watery  chaos,"  constituting  the  name 
of  the  goddess  Bar  a,  assimilated  to  Thalatth  or  Tiamat,  involve 
the  double  conception  of  the  division  of  chaos,  the  separation  of  the 
primordial  sea,  out  of  the  two  portions  of  which  heaven  and  earth 
were  formed.  But  more  than  this,  the  variant  of  Bara  is  Sara, 
having  the  sense  of  "  commencement,"  or  of  "  a  beginning."  We 
might  almost  say  that  the  expression  8ara  +  Bara  involved  the  ex- 
press notions,  "  In  the  beginning  the  waters  of  chaos  were  divided." 

The  Babylonian  zodiac  was  employed  for  marking  the  divisions 
of  three  distinct  periods  of  time  :  1st.  The  twelve  hours  of  the  day, 
called  kar-bu,  or  "  double  hours ;  "  2d.  The  twelve  months  of  the 
year ;  and  3d.  The  twelve  divisions  of  the  great  cosmical  year, 
which  opened  at  the  very  dawn  of  creation.2  Each  of  these  periods 
commenced  with  the  sign  Aries,  or  the  Ram,  if  we  admit  that  the 
hours  of  the  day  were  reckoned  from  evening,  as  in  the  first  chapter 
of  Genesis :  "  And  the  evening  and  the  morning  were  the  first 
day,"  etc.  Hence,  the  zodiacal  sign  Aries  marked  the  three  com- 
mencements, —  the  beginning  of  the  day,  the  beginning  of  the 
year,  and  the  beginning  of  the  cosmical  year,  of  time  itself,  marked 
by  the  first  creative  act.  What  we  have  to  say  now  is  that  the 
cuneiform  character  Bara,  having  its  variant  of  Sara,  constitutes 
the  monogram  for  the  first  month  of  the  Babylonian  year,  answer- 
ing to  this  identical  sign  Aries,  or  the  Ram.  In  other  words,  this 
character  Bara,  thus  employed,  marked  the  beginning  of  the  day, 
of  the  year,  and  of  the  world. 

SEC.  48.  It  results,  from  the  data  presented  in  the  last  section, 
1st.  That  Anu  and  Anatu,  as  the  original  androgynous  principle, 
were  assimilated  to  the  two  halves  of  the  Babylonian  sphere,  the 
upper  and  lower  hemisphere,  or  the  superior  and  inferior  heavens ; 
and  that  these  were  put  respectively  for  the  two  chief  divisions 
of  the  cosmos,  or  heaven  and  earth.  Ample  proof  of  these  state- 
ments will  appear  in  future  chapters.  2d.  That  the  majority  of 
monstrous  forms  inhabiting  the  primal  chaos,  as  described  by  Bero- 
sus,  may  be  recognized  even  upon  the  modern  sphere,  leading  to 
the  inference  that  originally  all  of  them  were  to  be  found  figured 
there.  3d.  That  the  goddess  Thalatth,  Te-li-ta,  or  Ti-sal-mat,  who 

1  Vid.  Lenormant,  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  68. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  188-191,  and  234-236  ;  where  the  existence  of  these  three  time 
periods  is  fully  shown. 


122 


HAR-MOAD. 


represents  the  chaos  in  the  Babylonian  system,  is  definitely  assimi- 
lated to  the  zodiacal  sign  Aries,  under  the  name  Bara,  or  the 
"  mistress  Bara  ;  "  that  very  sign  which  marks  the  primary  division 
of  the  sphere  from  west  to  east  into  the  upper  and  lower  hemi- 
spheres, otherwise  put  for  heaven  and  earth,  the  chief  divisions  of 
the  cosmos.  4th.  The  name  Bara,  and  its  variant  Sara,  in  their 
combined  import,  distinctly  involve  the  notions :  (a)  of  a  watery 
chaos;  (b)  of  its  being  cut  asunder;  (c)  at  the  beginning  of  all 
things ;  (d)  as  the  first  act  in  fabricating  the  world.  In  view  of 
these  facts  I  think  that  it  may  be  considered  as  established  that  the 
Babylonian  sphere  was  taken  as  a  symbol  of  the  cosmos  ;  and  that  its 
primary  divisions  and  orderly  arrangement  for  the  purposes  of  a 
calendar  and  other  practical  uses  were  held  to  represent  the  process 
of  creation  and  the  development  of  order  out  of  the  original  chaos. 
This  primal  chaos  was  represented  by  the  sphere  in  its  unformed, 
confused  state,  prior  to  its  systematic  division  and  arrangement ;  and 
the  constellation  Aries,  where  all  the  periods  commenced,  marked 
the  beginning  of  all  things,  as  well  as  the  primary  division  of  the 
cosmos  symbolized  by  the  two  hemispheres. 

I  have  not  space  in  the  present  chapter  to  offer  further  proofs  of 
the  important  hypothesis  just  stated  ;  but  the  course  of  our  investi- 
gations in  the  chapters  following  will  lead  naturally  to  other  facts, 
fully  demonstrating  the  correctness  of  the  position  here  assumed. 
My  aim  here  has  been  to  arrive,  by  a  process  as  direct  as  possible, 
to  the  proper  standpoint  from  which  to  study  the  Babylonian  cos- 
mogony and  its  relations  to  that  of  the  Mosaic  record.  We  return 
now  to  a  comparison  of  the  Hebrew  and  Babylonian  representa- 
tions of  the  primitive  chaos,  a  point  upon  which  the  subjoined 
remarks  of  Mr.  Smith  have  a  direct  bearing  :  — 

"  It  is  evident  that,  according  to  the  notion  of  the  Babylonians, 
the  sea  was  the  origin  of  all  things,  and  this  also  agrees  with  the 
statement  of  Genesis  i.  2,  where  the  chaotic  waters  are  called  cinn, 
'  the  deep,'  the  same  word  as  the  Tiamat  of  the  Creation  text  and 
the  Tauthe  of  Damascius."  "  Beside  the  name  of  the  chaotic  deep 
called  Dinn  in  Genesis,  which  is,  as  I  have  said,  evidently  the  Tia- 
mat of  the  Creation  text,  we  have  in  Genesis  the  word  inn,  waste, 
desolate,  or  formless,  applied  to  this  waste.  This  appears  to  be  the 
tehuta  of  the  Assyrians  —  a  name  of  the  sea-water  (Hist,  of  Assurb. 
p.  59)  ;  this  word  is  closely  connected  with  the  word  tiamat  or 
tamtu,  the  sea.  The  correspondence  between  the  inscription  and 


MOSAIC   AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  123 

Genesis  is  here  complete,  both  stating  that  a  watery  chaos  preceded 
the  creation,  and  formed,  in  fact,  the  origin  and  groundwork  of  the 
universe.  We  have  here  not  only  an  agreement  in  sense,  but,  what 
is  rarer,  the  same  word  used  in  both  narratives  as  the  name  of  this 
chaos,  and  given  also  in  the  account  of  Damascius."  1 

The  author  goes  on  to  identify  the  word  Tiarnat  with  Thalatth, 
also,  as  it  occurs  in  Berosus'  account.  The  important  facts  above 
stated,  in  relation  to  which  no  doubt  seems  to  exist,  have  a  bearing 
equally  important,  and  deserve  a  careful  study.  The  same  term 
employed  in  Gen.  i.  2,  to  designate  the  primal  chaos,  this  being  the 
Hebrew  Tehom,  "  the  deep,"  occurs  in  the  Babylonian  account  as 
personal  name  of  the  goddess  Tiamat,  or  Thalatth,  representing 
this  chaos.  Did  the  rgdacteur  of  Genesis  borrow  this  expression 
from  the  Babylonians,  rejecting  its  mythological  sense,  converting 
a  personal  name  into  an  ordinary  word  ?  Or,  did  the  Babylonian 
account  borrow  from  that  of  the  Hebrews,  adding  to  an  ordinary 
designation  of  "  the  deep  "  a  strictly  personal  and  mythological  con- 
ception ?  Or,  again,  did  both  systems  derive  this  word  from  an 
account  still  more  original,  each  giving  to  it  its  own  local  interpre- 
tation, in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  two  peoples  and  their 
respective  religions  ?  These  are  difficult  questions  to  answer  satis- 
factorily, and  it  is  probable  that  different  views  will  prevail  in  rela- 
tion to  the  subject.  But  one  fact  favors  strongly  the  opinion  of  the 
priority,  and  even  originality,  of  the  Babylonian  conception.  It  is, 
that  even  the  Mosaic  account  conceives  creation  as  in  some  sense 
a  generative  process  ;  and  this  notion  is  not  only  fundamental  in  the 
Babylonian  cosmogony,  but  it  accords  perfectly  with  the  prevailing 
ideas  and  habits  of  thought  in  antiquity.  In  such  case,  then,  the 
idea  of  a  passive,  a  female  principle,  associated  with  the  primal 
chaos,  is  quite  natural,  and  almost  necessary.  Nevertheless,  the 
Hebrew  verb  Rd-khapTi  (F|rn),  i°  the  expression,  "And  the  Spirit 
of  God  moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters,"  answers  better  to  the 
ancient  doctrine  of  "  the  mundane  egg  "  than  to  that  of  a  goddess. 
Whatever  view  is  adopted,  we  have  to  admit  that  the  Babylonian 
mode  of  conception  is  not  without  justification,  even  as  compared 
with  Genesis. 

SEC.  49.  We  come  again  to  the  question  as  to  what  constitutes 
the  "  beginning  "  in  these  two  cosmogonies.  At  first  view  there 

1  Chaldcean  Account  of  Genesis,  pp.  64,  65. 


124  HAR-MOAD. 

appears  here  a  difference  in  the  mode  of  expression,  if  not  in  funda- 
mental idea.  The  Babylonian  system  assumes  the  chaos  as  the 
"  beginning,"  while  the  Mosaic  account  represents  the  act,  implied 
in  the  term  Bara,  as  the  "  beginning."  But  we  have  seen  that  the 
woman,  personifying  the  chaos,  is  considered  in  the  inscriptions 
as  the  goddess  Bara.  What  are  the  evidences  that  the  Hebrew 
and  Accadian  Bara  were  originally  one  and  the  same  word  ?  1st. 
Their  exact  phonetical  equivalence.  2d.  They  both  involve  the 
notion  of  "  cutting,  carving,  dividing,"  and  thence  that  of  "fabri- 
cating, creating,"  by  means  of  cutting  and  dividing.  3d.  Both 
appear  to  have  had  reference  primarily  to  the  customs  of  the  altar, 
especially  the  cutting  up  of  the  victims  destined  for  the  sacrifices. 
The  Accadian  word  signifies  "  an  altar,"  while  the  Hebrew  Bara  is 
strictly  cognate  with  Ba-rah  (n"D),  "to  cut,  to  cut  asunder,"  from 
which  comes  Be-reeth  (rrns),  "  covenant,"  from  the  idea  of  cutting 
up  the  victims  offered  in  ratification  of  the  covenant.  4th.  The 
Accadian  Ba-ra  involves  the  notion  of  "  division  of  the  waters," 
referring  to  the  waters  of  the  deluge  assimilated  to  those  of  chaos; 
while  the  Hebrew  term  signifying  also  "  to  cut,  to  divide,"  is  put 
in  direct  connection  with  the  watery  chaos.  5th.  The  Accadian 
character  constitutes  the  monogram  for  the  first  month  of  the  year, 
answering  to  the  zodiacal  Aries,  and  marks  thus  the  "  beginning  " 
of  the  day,  of  the  year,  and  finally  of  the  cosmical  period,  which 
opened  at  the  instant  of  the  Mosaic  "  beginning,"  denoted  by  the 
Hebrew  Bara.  6th.  The  Accadian  monogram  marks  also  the  pri- 
mary division  of  the  sphere  into  two  equal  portions,  these  being 
assimilated  to  the  two  chief  divisions  of  the  cosmos,  or  heaven  and 
earth.  If  we  adhere  to  the  primary  sense  of  the  Hebrew  Bara,  it 
denoted  the  primary  division  of  chaos  into  two  portions,  heaven 
being  constituted  of  one,  and  the  earth  of  the  other.  Admit,  as  we 
do,  the  sense  of  "  created  "  for  the  Hebrew  term  ;  yet  the  creation 
involved  necessarily  a  process,  and  this  process  was  one  of  "  cut- 
ting," of  "  division."  l 

1  The  manuscript  of  the  present  work  had  been  completed,  so  far  as  con- 
cerns the  text,  when  the  Bibliotkeca  Sacra  (Andover,  Mass.)  for  July,  1876, 
came  to  hand.  In  the  article  entitled.  "  An  Exposition  of  the  Original  Text  of 
Genesis  I.  and  II.,"  by  Rev.  Samuel  Hopkins,  the  author  repudiates  the  notion 
of  "creation  ex  nihilo,"  as  implied  in  the  Hebrew  Barn  (pp.  512-515).  In  fact, 
this  writer's  exegesis  of  Gen.  i.  1,2,  agrees  very  nearly  with  what  we  have 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  125 

Such  remarkable  coincidences,  and  so  many  of  them,  must  be 
considered  as  demonstrative  ;  the  two  words  were  originally  one  ; 
and  this  had  a  technical  usage  in  both  systems,  as  implying  the  fun- 
damental notions  of  creation  and  the  creative  process.  It  results 
also  from  these  data  that  the  idea  of  a  creation  from  nonentity,  or 
ex  nihilo,  attached  to  the  Hebrew  Bara,  as  advocated  by  M.  Lenor- 
mant  and  the  Abbd  Le  Hir,  as  well  as  by  most  exegetes,  is  perfectly 
foreign  to  the  doctrine  as  well  of  the  Mosaic  as  of  the  Babylonian 
cosmogony.  The  dogma  of  a  purely  Spiritual  Existence  separate 
from  and  prior  to  all  material  existence  cannot  be  deduced  from 
either  system,  and  it  was  probably  unknown  to  the  world  at  the 
period  when  these  cosmogonies  were  originated.  Mr.  Smith  has 
stated  the  simple  truth  on  this  point  in  this  passage  already  quoted : 
"  The  correspondence  between  the  inscription  and  Genesis  is  here 
complete,  loth  stating  that  a  watery  chaos  preceded  the  creation,  and 
formed,  in  fact ,  the  origin  and  groundwork  of  the  universe"  As  to 
what  constitutes  the  "  beginning  "  in  the  two  cosmogonies,  if  we 
admit  a  common  origin  of  the  Hebrew  and  Accadian  Bara,  the 
difference  resolves  itself  into  that  between  the  two  usages  of  the 
same  word  ;  one  as  a  substantive,  being  only  another  name  for  the 
chaos,  yet  involving  the  ideas  of  division  and  fabrication  ;  the  other 
in  a  verbal  sense  denoting  division  and  creation,  with  special  refer- 
ence to  chaos,  and  the  universe  formed  from  it. 

The  next  point  of  comparison  between  the  two  cosmogonies,  for 
which  the  Babylonian  documents  afford  a  sufficient  basis,  is  that 
which  relates  to  the  heavenly  bodies.  The  cuneiform  text  apper- 
taining to  this  subject,  as  rendered  by  Mr.  Smith,  is  that  which  we 
have  marked  O.  We  have  here  about  thirty  lines,  instead  of  the 
brief  summary  of  Berosus,  and  the  five  or  six  verses  of  Genesis. 
The  importance  attached  to  this  portion  of  the  labor  of  creation, 
even  in  the  Hebrew  system,  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  an  entire  day  is 
devoted  to  it.  The  resemblances  between  the  two  documents  in 
certain  parts  are  very  striking ;  but  the  cuneiform  text  includes 
much  in  relation  to  which  the  Mosaic  account  is  entirely  silent. 

explained  as  "  the  beginning,"  according  to  the  Babylonian  cosmogony,  although 
he  evidently  conceives  an  abstract  Spiritual  Existence  prior  to  all  matter.  It  is 
obvious,  I  think,  that  the  Mosaic  doctrine  implied  a  division  of  a  previously  exist- 
ing chaos  as  the  first  act  of  creation  ;  and  such  seems  to  have  been  the  universal 
traditionary  idea. 


126  HAR-MOAD. 


This  extra  matter  has  obvious  reference  to  the  first  risings  of  the 
sun,  moon,  and  planets,  fixing  their  orbits  and  the  like.  In  some  of 
the  ancient  mythologies,  there  were  reckoned  three  distinct  phases 
of  the  sun's  course ;  there  was  the  nocturnal  sun,  the  winter's  sun, 
and  the  sun  of  the  primordial  night  of  chaos  ;  and  to  each  of  these 
was  attached  its  appropriate  rising.  Ideas  of  this  nature  were  asso- 
ciated with  Osiris  among  the  Egyptians.  Something  similar  was 
held  also  with  respect  to  the  moon.  The  moon  was  thought  by  the 
Egyptians  to  have  made  its  first  rising  at  Hermopolis,  and  the  sun 
at  Heracleopolis.1  These  notions  appear  to  have  been  quite  ancient 
among  the  Hamites  of  Egypt,  and  were  probably  such  with  the 
Babylonians.  It  is  by  no  means  certain,  therefore,  as  one  might  at 
first  conclude,  that  they  were  interpolated  into  the  Babylonian  cos- 
mical  system  at  some  late  epoch.  "  The  great  gates  in  the  darkness 
shrouded,"  mentioned  in  the  ninth  line  of  the  text,  appear  to  be  the 
gates  of  the  sun.  According  to  classic  authors,  recently  confirmed 
by  the  investigations  of  Professor  Romieu,  the  Egyptians  located 
the  solar  gates,  called  "  Kents,''  at  the  points  where  the  sun  attained 
the  summer  and  winter  solstices,  or  in  the  signs  Cancer  and  Capri- 
corn. We  shall  cite  Professor  Romieu  on  this  matter  in  a  future 
chapter.  The  tenth  line  of  the  text  has  the  words :  "  The  fasten- 
ings were  strong  on  the  left  and  right."  This  must  refer  to  the 
north  and  south  poles;  for  Su-me-la^  or  Su-mi-lu,  which  in  the  ori- 
ginal is  put  here  for  the  "left,"  is  a  term  usually  designating  the 
north,  or  north  pole,  in  the  inscriptions.  Mr.  Smith's  interpretation 
of  these  two  lines  appears  to  be  somewhat  different,  but  my  view 
conforms  more,  I  think,  to  prevailing  ideas.  "  In  its  mass  (in  the 
lower  hemisphere)  he  made  a  boiling ;  the  god  Uru  (the  moon)  he 
caused  to  rise  out"  (11.  11,  12).  This  is  evidently  the  moon's  pri- 
mordial rising  at  the  beginning  of  time;  at  the  commencement  of 
the  first  month  and  the  first  year  of  the  world.  The  notion  of  "  a 
boiling  "  is  not  peculiar  to  the  Babylonian  text ;  it  is  plainly  implied 
in  the  Hebrew  term  Tehom,  designating  the  chaos. 

SEC.  50.  But  that  portion  of  this  text  which  most  resembles 
the  Mosaic  account  of  the  fourth  day's  labor  is  the  following: 
"  Stars,  their  appearance  (in  figures)  of  animals  he  arranged.  To 
fix  the  year  through  the  observation  of  their  constellations,  twelve 
months  (or  signs)  of  stars  in  three  rows  he  arranged,  from  the  day 
1  Vid.  De  Rougd,  Names  de  I'Egypte,  p.  25. 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  127 

when  the  year  commences  unto  the  close.  He  marked  the  positions 
of  the  wandering  stars  (planets)  to  shine  in  their  courses,  that  they 
may  not  do  injury,  and  may  not  trouble  any  one"  (11.  2—7).  This 
language  certainly  presupposes  the  existence  of  the  sphere  and  of 
the  constellations ;  and  the  labor  here  consists  simply  in  arranging 
and  methodizing  them  for  the  purposes  of  a  calendar.  The  ruling 
expression  is,  "  he  arranged,"  not,  as  in  Genesis,  "  God  made"  or 
k4  let  there  be."  One  naturally  conceives  here  the  Babylonian 
sphere  in  its  primitive,  confused,  chaotic  state.  A  multitude  of 
constellations,  or  figures  of  animals  having  a  monstrous  form,  had 
been  marked  out  in  the  heavens  according  to  fancy  or  some  precon- 
ceived notion,  and  these  had  served  the  crude  purpose  of  marking 
the  seasons,  and  had  been  handed  down  from  father  to  son.  But 
there  existed  no  order  here,  no  fixed  and  scientific  arrangement. 
The  goddess  Tiamat,  or  Thalatth,  ruled  over  this  incongruous  mass, 
and  thus  she  was  the  producing  mother  of  all.  There  came  a  time 
when  order  was  introduced  into  this  chaos.  The  primary  divisions 
of  the  sphere  were  definitely  located,  the  zodiacal  constellations 
were  arranged  to  correspond  with  the  months,  the  calendar  was 
fixed.  A  consummate  wisdom  and  an  exalted  symbolism  presided 
over  this  work ;  for  there  was  embodied  here  the  cosmogony,  the 
historical  tradition,  the  religious  system,  and  almost  the  entire 
sacred  science  of  Babylon.  We  have  not  space  in  the  present  con- 
nection to  detail  the  evidences  in  support  of  this  last  statement ; 
but  they  will  be  constantly  multiplying  upon  our  hands  throughout 
the  present  work.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  primary  division  of 
the  sphere  into  two  equal  portions  from  east  to  west,  marked  by 
the  month  Bara  and  the  sign  Aries,  represented  the  first  act  of 
creation,  the  division  of  chaos ;  and  the  two  halves  of  the  sphere 
thus  divided  were  assimilated,  the  one  to  heaven  ruled  by  Anu,  the 
other  to  the  earth  ruled  by  Hea.  The  earth  was  then  the  abyss, 
corresponding  to  the  watery  signs  of  the  zodiac.  It  was  this  region, 
with  the  exception  of  the  labors  of  the  fourth  day,  to  which  all  the 
subsequent  acts  of  creation  appertained.  We  shall  see  in  a  future 
chapter  that  even  the  terrestrial  paradise  was  mystically  located  in 
the  inferior  hemisphere. 

As  before  remarked,  the  two  accounts,  in  the  portions  referred  to, 
are  very  similar ;  particularly  as  regards  the  fourteenth  verse  in  the 
Mosaic  text :  "  And  God  said,  Let  there  be  lights  in  the  firmament 


128  HAR-MOAD. 


of  heaven  to  divide  the  day  from  the  night ;  and  let  them  be  for 
signs,  and  for  seasons,  and  for  days,  and  years."  The  definite  allu- 
sion to  the  "  signs  "  and  to  "  years,"  relating  thus  to  the  calendar, 
can  hardly  be  distinguished  in  idea  from  the  Babylonian  text, 
though  the  language  is  not  the  same.  We  have  seen  that  the  ac- 
count furnished  by  the  tablets  presupposes  the  existence  of  the 
heavenly  bodies,  of  the  constellations,  of  the  sphere,  in  fact,  and 
that  the  labor  bestowed  is  merely  in  arranging  them,  in  reducing 
them  to  order.  Does  the  Mosaic  text  imply  all  this?  The  refer- 
ence to  the  "signs"  is  certainly  very  significant.  We  know  now, 
from  the  tablets,  that  the  zodiacal  signs  were  originally  intended. 
Nor  do  the  expressions  "  let  there  be  "  and  "  God  made,"  as  usuallv 
interpreted,  differ  materially  in  sense  from  the  phrase  "  he  ar- 
ranged," in  the  Babylonian  account.  Professor  Bush  remarks : 
"  The  original  word  for  4  made '  is  not  the  same  as  that  which  is 
rendered  '  create.'  It  is  a  term  frequently  employed  to  signify 
constituted,  appointed,  set  for  a  particular  purpose  or  use  "  (notes 
in  loc.).  The  idea,  then,  is  almost  identical  with  that  expressed  by 
the  terms  "  he  arranged."  This  is  not  in  either  account  a  creation 
de  novo  ;  and  the  reference  to  the  "  signs,"  understood  in  our  pres- 
ent light  derived  from  the  tablets,  presupposes  the  existence  of  the 
constellations,  if  not  of  the  zodiac  itself  ;  and  the  work  of  arrang- 
ing, appointing,  with  a  view  to  a  calendar,  seems  to  be  implied 
equally  in  both  texts. 

Briefly  now,  upon  the  disproportion  of  matter  included  at  this 
point  of  the  two  narratives.  The  question  occurs  here  again : 
which  account  has  been  derived  from  the  other?  Or  have  both 
drawn  from  a  common  text  earlier  than  either  ?  It  would  be  easy 
to  say  that  the  Mosaic  text  has  been  abridged  from  the  Babylonian  ; 
but  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  prove  it.  There  are  some  things 
extremely  puerile,  savoring  of  gross  ignorance  and  superstition,  in 
the  Babylonian  text,  suggesting  the  idea  of  later  additions,  as  this 
relating  to  the  planets:  "That  they  may  not  do  injury,  and  may 
not  trouble  any  one  "  (1.  7).  They  were  "  wandering  stars,"  and 
the  intention  appears  to  be  to  allay  any  fears  of  collisions  and 
catastrophes.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  reference  to  the  first 
risings,  and  opening  of  the  first  month,  points  to  notions  really 
ancient,  and  strictly  appertaining  to  the  cosmical  systems  of  anti- 
quity. There  does  not  exist  in  this  any  evidence  of  later  additions. 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  129 

On  what  theory,  then,  shall  we  account  for  the  disproportion  of 
matter  in  the  two  texts  which  in  other  respects  exhibit  such  an 
exact  correspondence  ?  I  think  the  difference  which  is  here  so 
apparent  is  mostly  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Cushites  of  Babylon, 
like  the  Hamites  of  Egypt,  had  taken  the  sphere  as  the  symbol  of 
the  cosmos,  and  -as  the  embodiment  of  their  cosmical  doctrines.  It 
is  on  this  ground  that  it  is  possible  to  explain  the  long  description 
of  the  preexisting  chaos  in  the  account  of  Berosus,  and  which  is 
almost  wholly  absent  from  the  Mosaic  text.  The  notions  of  the 
first  risings,  also,  connected  with  those  of  a  primordial  sun  and 
moon,  located  in  the  lower  hemisphere,  seem  to  belong  to  the  same 
symbolic  mode  of  representing  the  cosmos.  The  celestial  gates,  and 
fastenings  of  the  left  and  right,  belong  to  the  same  category  of 
ideas.  But  in  addition  to  all  this,  we  must  take  into  consideration 
the  polytheistic  conceptions  involved  in  the  Babylonian  text,  which 
hardly  appertained  to  the  primitive  period.  For  the  most  part, 
everything  relating  to  these  habits  of  thought  has  been  excluded 
from  the  Mosaic  text ;  and  for  this  reason  it  is  far  more  brief  upon 
nearly  all  the  points  treated.  There  are  certain  portions  of  the 
Creation  Tablets  in  which  it  is  easy  to  detect  expressions  of  a  late 
origin  compared  with  the  main  course  of  the  narrative.  In  the 
address  to  the  newly  created  human  pair,  which  we  have  marked 
E,  we  have  allusion  to  "  instruments,"  to  written  "  tablets,"  to 
"tribute,"  the  "bowing  of  the  face,"  etc.,  demonstrating  that  the 
document  in  its  present  form  is  not  primitive. 

SEC.  51.  In  the  text  marked  Z),  the  eighteenth  line,  occurs  the 
phrase,  "  In  the  mouth  of  the  dark  races  which  his  hand  has  made." 
The  original  for  "  dark  races "  is  zalmat-qaqadi,  as  read  by  Mr. 
Smith ;  and  the  translator  has  the  following  important  statement  in 
connection  with  this  subject :  —  * 

"  It  appears  from  line  18  that  the  race  of  human  beings  spoken 
of  is  the  zalmat-qaqadi,  or  dark  race,  and  in  various  other  fragments 
of  these  legends  they  are  called  Admi  or  Adami,  which  is  exactly 
the  name  given  to  the  first  man  in  Genesis.  The  word  Adam  used 
in  these  legends  for  the  first  human  being  is  evidently  not  a  proper 
name,  but  is  only  used  as  a  term  for  mankind.  Adam  appears  as 
a  proper  name  in  Genesis,  but  certainly  in  some  passages  is  only 
used  in  the  same  sense  as  the  Assyrian  word,  and  we  are  told  on 
the  creation  of  human  beings  (Gen.  v.  1)  :  *  In  the  day  that  God 
created  man,  in  the  likeness  of  God  made  he  him ;  male  and  female 


130  HAR-MOAD. 

created  he  them ;  and  blessed  them,  and  called  their  name  Adam, 
in  the  day  when  they  were  created.'  It  has  already  been  pointed 
out  by  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  that  the  Babylonians  recognized  two 
principal  races :  the  Adamu,  or  dark  race,  and  the  Sarku,  or  light 
race  ;  probably  in  the  same  manner  that  two  races  are  mentioned  in 
Genesis,  the  sons  of  Adam,  and  the  sons  of  God.  It  appears  inci- 
dentally from  the  fragments  of  inscriptions  that  it  was  the  race  of 
Adam,  or  the  dark  race,  which  was  believed  to  have  fallen,  but 
there  is  at  present  no  clue  to  the  position  of  the  other  race  in  their 
system."  1 

Upon  the  term  Adam  (ETW),  Dr.  Gesenius  has  the  following: 
(1)  "  A  man,  a  human  being,  male  or  female,  properly  our  red, 
ruddy  (from  C-TS  4to  De  red'),  as  it  would  seem."  (2)  "A  man, 
not  a  woman."  (3)  "  Any  man,  any  one."  (4)  "  Adam,  proper 
name  of  the  first  man,  Gen.  ii.  7,  sq.  At  least  in  these  passages 
a"TS  assumes  the  nature  of  a  proper  name  in  a  certain  degree  " 
(sub  voc.).  Dr.  Ernest  Muir  considers  the  collective  sense,  desig- 
nating humanity  in  general,  as  fundamental  in  the  word  Adam, 
and  upon  this  ground  accounts  for  the  fact  that  it  takes  no  plural 
form.2  The  name  of  the  second  son  of  Adam,  or  Abel,  is  also  ha- 
bitually employed  in  the  cuneiform  text  in  a  generic  sense,  as  desig- 
nating a  son  in  general,  instead  of  as  a  personal  name;  thus  Ab-lu, 
"a  son"  in  the  Assyrian,  is  the  exact  equivalent  of  the  Accadian 
Tur-us,  "male  child,  or  son."3  It  is  probable  that  the  name  of 
Cain  had  a  like  generic  meaning,  i.  e.  "  offspring,"  considered  as  a 
"possession."  It  is  found  under  the  substantive  form  in  the  Him- 
yaric  inscriptions,  denoting  "  a  possession  "  in  general.4  All  the 
facts,  then,  tend  strongly  to  support  the  Babylonian  view  of  the 
two  races,  and  of  the  generic  sense  of  these  names.  The  Mosaic 
text  cannot  be  said  positively  to  contradict  this  theory,  but  on  the 
contrary  it  lends  more  or  less  clirect  support  to  it.  Who  were  these 
sons  of  Elohim  said  to  have  intermarried  with  the  daughters  of 
Adam?  (Gen.  vi.  1,  2).  The  opinion  heretofore  held  by  exegetes, 
that  these  "  sons  "  were  descendants  in  the  line  of  Seth,  and  these 
"  daughters"  the  posterity  of  Cain,  although  attended  with  difficul- 
ties, lias  seemed  to  be  the  most  reasonable.  But  in  the  light  of  the 
"  Creation  Tablets  "  and  of  the  facts  developed  by  Sir  H.  Rawlin- 

1  Chald.  Acct.  Genesis,  pp.  85,  86.  2  Heb.  Wurzelworterb.,  p.  359. 

8  Vid.  Norris,  Assyr.  Die.,  i.  p.  9.     Cf.  Schrader,  Keilinschriften,  etc.,  p.  106. 
«  Vid.  Lenormant,  Doc.  Math.,  notes,  pp.  129,  130. 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  131 

son  the  problem  assumes  quite  a  different  aspect.  It  looks  as 
though  Adam  and  Eve  ought  to  be  interpreted  as  the  Primitive 
Church,  instead  of  as  the  First  Human  Pair ;  and  numerous  pas- 
sages might  be  cited  from  the  New  Testament  to  confirm  this 
theory.  Paul  to  the  Ephesians  says  (v.  31,  32)  :  "  For  this  cause 
shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  mother,  and  shall  be  joined  unto 
his  wife,  and  they  two  shall  be  one  flesh.  This  is  a  great  mystery : 
but  I  speak  concerning  Christ  and  the  church."  Here  the  identi- 
cal language  addressed  by  Adam  to  Eve  (Gen.  ii.  24)  is  inter- 
preted with  reference  to  Christ  and  the  church.  We  shall  return 
to  these  questions  in  the  sequel  of  the  present  work. 

The  actual  occurrence  of  the  name  Adami  or  Adam,  in  these 
new  documents  translated  by  Mr.  Smith,  in  connection  with  the 
facts  before  developed,  seems  to  exclude  all  doubt  as  to  the  primi- 
tive and  direct  relationship  existing  between  the  two  narratives. 
Only  two  suppositions  are  admissible  hereafter:  one  account  has 
been  derived  from  the  other,  or  both  have  been  drawn  from  the 
same  original,  more  primitive  than  either.  Nor  was  the  original, 
from  which  these  two  cosmogonies  proceeded,  a  simple  oral  tradi- 
tion, but  rather  a  written  document.  The  identity  of  terms,  the 
similarity  of  expression,  which  appears  here  would  not  be  found  in 
t\\o  separate  oral  traditions,  even  if  they  did  proceed  from  the  same 
source.  It  is  a  question  of  some  importance  here :  whether  this 
original  document  was  written  in  the  cuneiform  character,  or  in 
some  other  ?  It  would  be  difficult  to  prove  the  existence  of  the 
Hebrew  or  Phoenician  character  at  Babylon  as  early  as  the  time 
of  Abraham ;  or  of  any  other  system  except  the  cuneiform.  It 
is  probable,  then,  that  the  document  here  assumed  as  primitive 
was  written  in  the  character  last  designated.  The  original  of 
both  these  narratives  of  creation  was  thus  a  cuneiform  text.  It 
must  have  been  preserved  in  the  sanctuaries  of  the  valley  of  the 
Euphrates,  and  under  the  supervision  of  the  priests  or  priest-kings 
appertaining  to  them.  Nevertheless,  I  do  not  believe  that  the 
"  Creation  Tablets  "  truly  represent  the  documents  assumed  here  as 
primitive.  They  are  a  later,  more  popular,  and  in  some  respects  a 
corrupt  version  of  the  original  cosmical  narrative.  The  allusions  to 
"instruments"  in  worship,  to  "  bowing  of  the  face,"  to  the  "tab- 
lets," in  the  address  to  the  newly  created  human  pair,  as  already 
suggested,  are  expressions  inconsistent  with  a  truly  archaic  and 


132 


HAR-MOAD. 


primitive  account  of  the  creation.  There  was  a  more  ancient,  more 
pure,  and  less  extended  account ;  one  more  ancient  than  the  Assyr- 
ian copies,  or  the  Accadian  texts  from  which  the  copies  were  made. 
Whether  this  really  primitive  text  will  ever  be  discovered  or  not  is 
of  course  very  doubtful ;  but  if  it  exists  to-day  it  is  not  in  the  ruins 
of  Nineveh  ;  it  must  be  sought,  if  anywhere,  among  the  ruins  of 
those  cities  nearer  the  mouth  of  the  Euphrates ;  in  Babylonia,  or 
even  in  lower  Chaldaea. 

But  the  tradition  of  the  creation  did  not  first  take  its  rise  in  the 
valley  of  the  Euphrates,  nor  yet  in  the  "  highlands  of  Elam,"  where 
some  Assyriologues  would  locate  the  Karsak  Kurra  of  the  inscrip- 
tions, or  the  "  mountain  of  the  world."  The  great  Olympus  of  all 
Asia  was  situated  far  to  the  north  and  east,  in  relation  to  Baby- 
lon ;  and  it  was  from  thence  that  this  tradition  was  derived.  But 
of  this  hereafter.  I  am  not  able  to  prove  that  the  temple-craft, 
whose  history  was  attempted  to  be  traced  in  the  last  chapter,  were 
actually  those  through  whom  the  sacred  writings  pertaining  to  cre- 
ation, the  deluge,  etc.,  had  been  transmitted  to  historical  times  ; 
yet  I  am  unable  to  resist  the  conviction  that  such  was  the  fact.  It 
is  possible  that  the  future  may  confirm  this  hypothesis,  or,  perhaps, 
demonstrate  that  it  has  nothing  to  support  it.  Certainly,  the  exist- 
ence of  sacred  writings  at  a  period  immensely  remote,  if  not  even 
before  the  deluge,  was  sufficiently  indicated  by  the  data  presented 
at  the  opening  of  the  present  chapter.  It  was  shown,  also,  that 
these  writings  were  supposed  to  have  been  deposited  under  the 
corner-stones  of  temples.  All  this  favors  the  supposition  that  the 
temple-craft  had  some  active  connection  with  such  documents  and 
their  transmission  to  the  historical  period.  The  further  progress  of 
our  investigations  will  develop  facts  showing  that  this  conjecture  is 
at  least  a  consistent  one. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CREATION  CONCEIVED  AS  A  TEMPLE,  AND  THE  TEMPLE  AS  AN 
IMAGE  OF  CREATION. 

SEC.  52.  In  the  religious  and  philosophical  conceptions  of  high 
antiquity,  the  process  of  creating  the  world  and  the  method,  of  con- 
structing the  temple  were  regarded  as  fundamentally  the  same, 
namely,  that  of  DIVISION.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  the  notions 
of  the  cosmos  and  of  the  temple  were  usually  assimilated  to  each 
other.  Not  only  was  the  ground  conception  of  this  process  one  of 
division,  but  it  was  derived  originally  from  the  customs  of  the  altar, 
the  practice  of  dividing,  of  cutting  up,  the  victims  destined  for  the 
sacrifices.  In  the  ratification  of  covenants  the  victim  offered  was 
divided  into  two  portions  placed  side  by  side,  or  in  case  of  its  being 
cut  into  several  pieces  these  were  arranged  in  two  rows,  between 
which  the  contracting  parties  passed,  both  being  sprinkled  with  the 
blood  of  the  victim  by  a  third  person  styled  the  mediator.  There 
are  three  words  belonging  to  as  many  different  languages,  and  even 
families  of  languages,  which  are  more  or  less  directly  connected 
with  this  subject,  and  it  will  facilitate  these  investigations  to 
devote  a  special  consideration  to  them,  together  with  some  of  their 
cognate  expressions. 

1st.  The  Hebrew  Bara  (sna),  upon  which  we  have  already 
made  some  comments.  It  will  save  frequent  citations  to  state 
here  once  for  all  that  my  usual  authorities  in  Hebrew  lexicography 
have  been,  and  will  continue  to  be,  Drs.  Gesenius  and  Fiirst,  to- 
gether with  Dr.  Bresslau,  who  chiefly  follows  Fiirst.1  The  term 
Bara  is  thus  defined  :  (1)  "  To  cut,  to  cut  out,  to  carve,  to  form  by 
cutting  or  carving."  (2)  "  To  form,  to  create,  to  produce."  (3)  "  To 
beget,  to  bring  forth."  (4)  "  To  feed,  to  eat,  to  grow  fat,  from  the 

1  Vid.  Robinson's  Gesenius'  Eeb.  Lex.;  Fiirst,  Heft.  u.  Chald.  Schulwoerterb. ; 
Bresslau,  Heb.  and  Eng.  Die.  The  full  titles  are  given  in  the  list  of  authorities. 


134  HAR-MOAD. 

idea  of  cutting  up  food."  The  word  is  equivalent  to  Barak  (ms), 
which  signifies  :  (1)  "  To  cut,  to  cut  asunder."  (2)  "  To  eat,"  like 
Sara  No.  4.  From  this  last  comes  Bereeth  (n^2)  :  "  Originally, 
the  cutting  of  animals  of  sacrifices  ;  transferred  to  covenant,  treaty, 
on  account  of  the  custom  to  pass  between  two  rows  of  animals  cut 
for  sacrifices."  It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  the  fundamental 
conception  of  each  of  these  terms  corresponds  exactly  to  the  first  act 
of  creation  as  described  in  the  "  Fragments  of  Berosus  "  previously 
cited :  "  All  things  being  in  this  situation,  Belus  came  and  cut  the 
woman  (personifying  chaos)  asunder,  and  of  one  half  of  her  he 
formed  the  earth,  and  of  the  other  half  the  heavens."  In  this  case 
the  two  portions  of  the  victim  slain  corresponded  to  the  two  chief 
divisions  of  the  cosmos,  or  to  heaven  and  earth.  The  notion 
obtained  very  anciently  that  creation  was  in  some  sense  a  sacrifice, 
and  we  see  here  how  closely  related  were  the  two  ideas  as  shown  in 
the  etymological  relation  of  Bara,  "  to  create,"  to  Bereeth,  "  cove- 
nant," ratified  by  sacrifices.  It  was  in  strict  accordance  with  con- 
ceptions of  this  kind  that  a  new  covenant  or  dispensation  estab- 
lished between  God  and  man,  which  was  sealed  by  a  sacrifice,  was 
often  conceived  as  a  new  creation,  or  a  new  heaven  and  earth. 

2d.  The  Accadian  Bara  has  been  already  partially  explained, 
but  it  is  necessary  to  add  here  a  few  remarks.  The  signification 
of  "  cutting,"  and  thence  of  "  fabricating,"  has  been  shown  to  be 
inherent  in  the  first  element  Ba,  and  the  signification  of  "  altar  " 
attached  to  the  term  sufficiently  indicates  a  primary  reference  to 
the  practice  of  cutting  up  the  victims.  We  have  seen  that  Bara 
was  connected  with  the  zodiacal  sign  Aries,  or  the  Ram,  as  mono- 
gram for  the  first  month  of  the  Babylonian  year.  The  entire  Ac- 
cadian name  of  this  month  was  Bara-saggar,  t;  the  altar  of  recti- 
tude," literally,  "  the  altar  that  makes  right."  Aries  marked  the 
commencement  of  three  distinct  periods  of  time,  that  of  the  day, 
the  year,  and  of  the  great  cosmical  year,  which  was  supposed  to 
begin  with  the  very  dawn,  the  first  act  of  creation,  this  act  being 
one  of  division,  of  cutting,  correspondent  to  the  customs  of  the 
altar.  It  was  doubtless  the  practice  at  Babylon  to  sacrifice  a  ram 
at  the  beginning  of  each  day,  and  also  at  the  commencement  of 
each  year ;  for  this  reason  a  ram  might  be  conceived  to  have  been 
offered  at  the  opening  of  the  great  cosmical  year,  which  would  give 
rise  naturally  to  the  notion  expressed  by  the  Revelator,  of  the 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  135 

"  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world "  (Rev.  xiii.  8). 
The  reference  of  this  word  to  the  goddess  Bara,  representing  the 
primal  chaos,  has  been  shown,  and  also  the  fact  that,  it  marks  the 
primary  division  of  the  sphere  through  the  sign  Aries,  whose  two 
halves  symbolized,  as  will  be  shown,  the  two  chief  divisions  of  the 
cosmos.  We  shall  see  hereafter  that  the  sphere  was  conceived  as  a 
zodiacal  temple,  whose  chief  departments  corresponded  to  the  two 
hemispheres.  The  analogy,  therefore,  between  the  temple  and  the 
cosmos,  on  one  hand,  and  between  the  first  act  of  creation  and  the 
practice  of  dividing  the  victim,  on  the  other,  reappears  here  very 
clearly. 

3d.  We  come  now  to  the  Greek  Temenos,  the  Latin  Templum, 
"  a  temple."  The  Greek  verb  Temno,  from  which  Temenos  is  de- 
rived, has  the  primary  sense  of  "  to  cut,  hew,  cut  to  pieces ; "  (1) 
of  men,  "to  cut,  wound,  maim ;  "  (2)  of  animals,  "  to  cut  up,  cut 
to  pieces,  to  slaughter,  to  sacrifice  ;  "  hence,  "  a  covenant,  truce, 
made  with  sacrifices."  The  substantive  Temenos  denotes  "  a  piece 
of  land  cut  or  marked  off,  assigned  as  a  private  possession  ;  "  "a 
piece  of  land  marked  off  from  common  use  and  dedicated  to  a  divin- 
ity "  (Liddell  and  Scott,  Gr.  Lex.  sub  voc.).  The  Latin  Templum 
has  about  the  same  sense  and  etymology ;  thus,  "  a  space  marked 
off,"  particularly,  in  the  language  of  augury,  "  an  open  place  for 
observation,"  "  the  extent  or  circuit  of  the  world,"  "  a  consecrated 
or  sacred  place,  a  sanctuary."  The  Latin  Tempus,  "  time,"  is  de- 
rived from  the  same  theme ;  thus,  "  the  root  Tern,  from  which  the 
Greek  Temno,  properly  denotes  a  section,  portion,  division ;  in  par- 
ticular of  time,  a  period  of  time,  daytime,  and  time  in  general " 
(Andrews'  Lat.  Die.  sub  vocJ).  At  the  base  of  all  these  forms  is 
the  Aryan  radical  Tern  or  Tarn,  "  to  cut,  to  divide."  There  seems 
to  be  some  difference  of  opinion,  however,  as  to  the  corresponding 
forms  of  this  root  in  the  older  branches  of  the  Aryan  family.  The 
"  St.  Petersburg  Dictionary,"  as  stated  by  Professor  Curtius,  classes 
it  with  the  Sanskrit  Tamdlas,  "  sword,"  and  Tamas,  "  darkness," 
the  ground  signification  being  that  of  "  darkness  "  (Grundziig,  p. 
221).  But  its  original  sense  of  "  to  cut,  to  divide,"  its  reference  to 
the  customs  of  the  altar,  and  finally  its  application  to  a  cut  off  sec- 
tion of  space,  considered  as  a  temple  and  a  divided  portion  of  dura- 
tion, giving  rise  to  the  notion  of  time,  are  points  upon  which  no 
doubts  can  be  entertained.  That  the  forms  Temenos  and  Templum 


136  HAR-MOAD. 

were  put  for  the  entire  circuit  of  the  world,  for  the  cosmos  itself, 
is  also  well  known. 

Let  us  see  now  what  notions  are  common  to  these  terms  just 
noticed,  either  as  etymologically  involved  in  their  signification,  or 
as  closely  related  to  them  by  association  of  ideas.  1st.  We  have 
the  sense  of  "  cutting,  division,  separation."  2d.  A  reference  to 
the  customs  of  the  altar,  the  practice  of  cutting  up  the  victims  to  be 
offered.  The  Greek  Temenos  and  the  Accadian  Bar  a  directly  imply 
this,  and  the  Hebrew  Bara  is  nearly  allied  to  Bereeth,  having  the 
same  reference.  3d.  The  idea  of  a  temple.  The  sacrifices  were 
naturally  associated  with  the  temple.  The  Greek  Temenos,  Latin 
Templum,  are  ordinary  words  designating  such  structures.  The 
Accadian  Bara  marked  the  primary  division  of  the  zodiacal  temple. 
A  like  reference  of  the  Hebrew  Bara  can  be  traced  only  indirectly. 
4th.  The  notion  of  time.  We  have  the  Latin  Tempus,  "time." 
The  Accadian  Bara  marked  the  commencement  of  three  distinct 
time  periods,  one  of  which  was  the  great  cosmical  year.  The  He- 
brew Bara  is  directly  associated  with  the  "  beginning  "  of  time 
itself,  corresponding  to  that  of  the  cosmical  period.  5th.  The  cos- 
mos. The  two  Aryan  terms,  Temenos  and  Templum,  were  often 
applied  to  the  cosmos,  conceived  as  a  temple,  and  the  Accadian  and 
Hebrew  words  were  directly  associated  with  the  process  of  creation. 
If  we  institute  a  comparative  analysis,  then,  of  the  conceptions 
attached  to  these  three  words,  the  resultant  principle  as  underlying 
all  seems  to  be  quite  apparent,  namely,  that  the  fundamental  doc- 
trine of  creation  and  of  the  temple  was  the  same,  being  that  of  divi- 
sion, and  that  this  was  derived  primarily  from  the  customs  of  the 
altar,  the  practice  of  dividing  the  victims  destined  for  the  sacri- 
fices. 

SEC.  53.  We  proceed  to  offer  some  definite  proofs  relative  to  cer- 
tain statements  heretofore  made,  which  were  only  partially  substan- 
tiated at  the  time,  or  left  entirely  without  support.  First,  then, 
as  regards  the  zodiacal  temple,  in  the  syllabaries  the  Accadian  Ki, 
signifying  *4  place,  ground,  earth,"  is  equated  to  the  Assyrian  As-ru 
(Syl.  No.  181),  which  has  consequently  the  same  meaning.  Now 
As-ru,  like  the  Assyrian  Asar,  was  put  for  the  inferior  hemisphere 
of  heaven,  as  in  the  phrase  pal-asar,  "  son  of  the  lower  hemi- 
sphere," and  it  designated  also  a  certain  class  of  temples  conceived 
as  images  of  the  inferior  heaven.  Referring  to  the  two  orders  of 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  137 

temples  representing  the  two  halves  of  the  sphere,  M.  F.  Lenormant 
remarks :  — 

"  They  are  designated,  in  effect,  the  first  by  the  signs  Bit-khi-ra, 
the  second  by  the  signs  Bit-mat ;  that  is  to  say,  by  the  same  ideo- 
graphic notation  as  the  two  halves  of  the  celestial  sphere ;  the 
As-ru  and  the  Laq-qadu  or  Bit-Sadu,  the  inferior  and  superior  hea- 
ven, the  nadir  and  the  zenith.  These  are,  then,  two  temples 
united,  yet  placed  in  opposition,  as  image  of  the  two  hemispheres 
of  the  universe,  the  inferior  and  superior,  the  infernal  and  celes- 
tial."1 

It  is  beyond  question,  therefore,  that  the  Babylonians  regarded 
their  sphere  in  the  light  of  a  temple,  or  as  two  temples  placed  in 
opposition,  yet  united  in  the  same  manner  as  the  two  hemispheres. 
We  shall  see  hereafter  that  this  mode  of  conception  was  by  no 
means  peculiar  to  the  Babylonians,  but  was  common  to  many 
nations  surrounding  them.  In  fact,  the  idea  of  the  "  celestial 
gates  "  so  prevalent  in  antiquity  only  lends  support  to  the  statement 
here  made,  since  the  celestial  gates  presuppose  a  celestial  temple. 

It  was  stated  in  the  last  chapter,  and  it  has  been  repeated  in  this, 
that  the  two  halves  of  the  Babylonian  sphere  were  put  for  the  two 
chief  cosmical  divisions,  or  heaven  and  earth.  Mr.  George  Smith 
has  been  already  cited  to  the  effect  that  Anu  "represented  the 
universe  as  the  upper  and  lower  regions,  and  when  these  were  di- 
vided, the  upper  region,  or  heaven,  was  called  Anu,  while  the  lower 
region,  or  earth,  was  called  Anatu,  Anatu  being  the  female  principle 
or  wife  of  Anu."  But  that  which  the  author  styles  here  "the 
earth  "  was  assimilated  to  the  inferior  heavens,  or  the  lower  hemi- 
sphere. Anu  was  put  for  the  upper  hemisphere,  and  Anatu  for  the 
lower.  This  is  proved  by  various  facts ;  among  others,  that  both 
are  often  equated  to  the  Accadian  An,  "  heaven ;  "  one  as  the  supe- 
rior heaven,  the  other  as  the  inferior.2  The  goddess  Tiamat,  who 
personifies  the  watery  abyss,  or  chaos,  evidently  appertains  to  the 
inferior  heavens,  and  as  such  is  the  same  as  Anatu,  producing 
mother  of  heaven  and  earth ;  yet  she  is  represented  as  on  the  earth, 

1  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  392.     Cf.  pp.  133  and  134,  note. 

2  Vid.  3d  Rawl.  PI.  69,  No.  1,  Obs.  11.  1,  2.     The  divine  name  which  Mr.  Smith 
reads  Anatu  is,  I  suppose,  the  Accadian  Turn.     In  the  text  cited  the  Accadian 
An  is  equated  first  to  the  god  Anu,  and  then  to  the  goddess  Turn  or  Anatu; 
and  as  Anu  is  certainly  put  for  the  upper,  Anatu  by  opposition  must  answer  to 
the  lower  heaven  ;  yet,  as  the  author  correctly  says,  she  represents  the  earth. 


138  HAR-MOAD. 

• 
and  likewise  the  chaos  itself,  as  noted  in  the  last  chapter.     But  it 

will  suffice  for  the  present  to  add  here  the  fact  just  developed,  of 
the  assimilation  of  As-ru  to  the  Accadian  Ki,  "earth,"  on  one  side, 
and  to  the  inferior  heavens,  represented  by  the  temples  Bit-khi-ra^ 
on  the  other.  It  is  perfectly  apparent,  then,  that  the  two  halves 
of  the  Babylonian  sphere  were  taken  as  symbols  respectively  of 
heaven  and  earth,  the  two  chief  divisions  of  the  cosmos.  The  tem- 
ple and  the  cosmos  are  here  shown  in  direct  relation  to  each  other, 
both  being  represented  by  the  sphere  or  zodiac. 

The  same  connection  of  ideas  may  be  established  with  respect  to 
the  Hebrew  tabernacle.  The  Holy  of  Holies,  or  interior  sanctuary, 
as  all  tends  to  show,  represented  heaven.  According  to  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  the  entrance  of  the  high-priest  once  a  year,  and  on 
the  great  day  of  the  atonement,  into  the  Holy  of  Holies,  was  a  type 
of  Christ's  entrance  into  heaven  itself.  This  interior  sanctuary  was 
thus  put  for  the  heavens  as  one  of  the  chief  divisions  of  the  cosmos ; 
and  from  this  fact,  it  is  necessary  to  infer  that  the  outer  tabernacle 
represented  the  other  chief  division,  or  the  earth.  All  this  was 
long  since  established  by  the  critical  researches  of  Dr.  Bahr,  who 
writes  substantially  as  follows :  — 

"  Humanly  speaking,  and  according  to  prevailing  ideas  which 
were  familiar  to  the  Hebrews,  the  building  constructed  for  the 
Deity,  the  house  in  which  God  dwelt,  was  the  creation  itself,  includ- 
ing heaven  and  earth.  In  general,  all  the  works  of  God  were  con- 
ceived as  buildings ;  insomuch  that  the  creation  of  Eve  was  repre- 
sented as  a  building  (Gen.  ii.  22;  ba-tiah,  4to  build').  But, 
especially,  the  created  world  is  described  in  the  technical  language 
peculiar  to  architecture,  as  in  Job  xxxviii.  4-7. 

"  This  symbolical  character,  which  attaches  generally  to  the 
sacred  edifice,  lends  significance  to  the  details  of  its  description  ;  and 
it  affords  for  us,  likewise,  a  better  explanation  of  its  order  and  ar- 
rangement. It  falls  principally  into  two  chief  divisions,  of  which 
one  (the  Holy  of  Holies)  takes  in  a  special  sense  the  name  of  the 
whole,  —  the  dwelling,  the  house,  or  the  tent  of  God.  With  the 
Hebrews,  accordingly,  of  the  two  divisions  of  creation  itself,  the  one, 
the  heaven,  was  regarded  as  the  peculiar  abode  of  Divinity.  By 
analogy,  therefore,  it  is  necessary  to  regard  the  especially  so-called 
dwelling  as  an  image  of  the  heavens,  while  the  court  corresponds 
to  the  other  chief  division  of  the  world,  or  to  the  earth."1 

1  Symbolik  des  Mosaische  Cultus,  i.  pp.  77-79.  The  language  of  Job,  cited  by 
Dr.  Bahr  is  quite  remarkable,  and  is  as  follows  :  "  Where  wast  thou  when  I  laid 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  139 

Dr.  Bahr  shows  that  the  ordinary  terms  employed  in  the  Hebrew 
text,  applied  to  the  tabernacle  as  a  conceived  dwelling  of  God,  such 
as  Beth,  "house,"  Ahel,  "  tent,"  and  Mishkan,  "dwelling,"  are 
equally  used  to  designate  the  heavens  as  God's  dwelling-place.  The 
denial  on  the  part  of  certain  modern  critics  that  the  Jewish  temple 
was  conceived  properly  as  a  "  dwelling  of  God,"  except  perhaps  as 
a  dwelling  of  the  Sam,  or  "name"  of  Jehovah,  is,  in  my  view, 
without  a  single  valid  reason;  and  it  contravenes  not  only  the 
fundamental  principles  of  the  Mosaic  system,  but  its  entire  spirit. 
Jehovah  was  primitively  the  Divinity  of  the  Hearth ;  and  the 
Mosaic  cultus  was  an  expansion  of  this  idea,  as  shown  in  our  sec- 
ond chapter.  The  doctrine  that  God  dwells,  inhabits,  the  same  as 
man,  is  both  fundamental  and  vital  to  the  two  religions  of  the 
Bible.  The  two  words  designating  the  "  temple  "  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, Beth  and  Hekal,  mean  "  house ; "  and  it  is  impossible  legit- 
imately to  attach  to  them  a  sense  different  from  that  of  a  dwell- 
ing. The  word  Beth  is  an  ordinary  word  for  "  house  "  in  all  the 
Semitic  tongues.  The  other  term,  He-kal,  is  now  known  to  have 
been  borrowed  from  the  Accadian  language.  Thus,  the  Accadian 
E,  "house,"  and  gal,  or  kal,  "great,"  means  "great  house,"  or 
"  palace,"  It  frequently  designates  "  a  palace  "  in  Hebrew  ;  and 
this  was  its  primitive  sense  in  the  sacred  language  of  Babylon. 
But  the  first  element  <?,  or  he,  preceded  by  the  characteristic  of 
divinity,  is  the  ordinary  cuneiform  expression  for  "  heaven  "  put  in 
opposition  to  "earth."  Hence,  as  Dr.  Bahr  has  correctly  main- 
tained, the  especially  so-called  dwelling  of  God,  that  is  to  say,  the 
Holy  of  Holies,  represented  the  "  heaven  "  as  one  of  the  chief  divi- 
sions of  .the  cosmos  ;  and  by  analogy  the  outer  tabernacle  was  put 
for  the  "earth."  For  the  same  reason,  also,  it  inclosed  a  cubical 
space,  like  the  superior  sanctuary  of  the  pyramidal  temple,  and 
similar  to  the  cubical  stone,  both  being  the  recognized  symbolical 
modes  of  representing  heaven,  as  proved  in  the  third  chapter. 

the  foundations  of  the  earth  ?  declare,  if  thou  hast  understanding.  Who  hath 
laid  the  measures  thereof,  if  thou  knowest  ?  or  who  hath  stretched  the  line  upon 
it?  Whereupon  are  the  foundations  thereof  fastened  ?  or  who  laid  the  corner- 
stone thereof  ;  when  the  morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of  God 
shouted  for  joy?  "  The  allusion  in  the  closing  language  to  the  cosmical  morning, 
when  the  heavenly  bodies  made  their  first  risings,  and  the  harmony  of  the  spheres 
was  first  evoked,  is  quite  significant ;  and  we  shall  see  hereafter  that  it  accorded 
perfectly  with  notions  prevailing  at  a  very  early  epoch. 


140  HAR-MOAD. 

SEC.  54.  If  the  Holy  of  Holies  represented  heaven,  and  the  outer 
tabernacle  the  earth,  then  the  vail  suspended  between  and  separat- 
ing them  ought  to  denote  the  primary  division  of  the  cosmos,  cor- 
responding to  the  fundamental  division  of  the  Babylonian  sphere 
from  west  to  east,  marked  by  the  Accadian  monogram  Bara ; 
symbolizing  the  first  act  of  creation,  or  the  division  of  the  primal 
chaos  into  two  portions,  from  which  heaven  and  earth  were  consti- 
tuted. We  have  quite  a  demonstrative  proof  of  this  in  the  mono- 
gram Bara,  whose  ordinary  Assyrian  equivalent  is  Pa-rak-ku  (Syl. 
No.  255),  this  being  one  with  the  Hebrew  Pa-rak  (Tp5),  "  to  break, 
to  break  down,  to  separate,"  from  which  comes  Pd-ro-keth  (np"iS), 
"avail,  curtain  of  .separation,  which  separated  the  Holy  of  Holies 
from  the  outer  sanctuary  in  the  tabernacle."  1  Dr.  Delitzsch,  as 
cited  below,  assimilates  the  Assyrian  Pa-rak-ku,  equivalent  of  the 
Accadian  Bara,  directly  to  the  Hebrew  Pd-ro-keth,  "  vail "  of  the 
tabernacle.  We  see,  then,  that  this  vail  involved  the  same  notion 
as  the  Accadian  monogram  Bara,  which  marked  the  division  of  the 
zodiacal  temple  from  west  to  east  through  the  sign  Aries,  or  the 
Ram,  and  that  both  had  primary  reference  to  the  separation  of 
chaos  and  the  formation  of  heaven  and  earth.  Thus,  at  every  step 
the  doctrine  previous!}'  announced  comes  more  clearly  into  the  light 
and  assumes  fundamental  importance ;  namely,  creation  and  the 
temple  proceed  from  one  and  the  same  ground  thought,  that  of  divi- 
sion ;  and  this  had  its  origin  in  the  customs  of  the  altar,  the  divi- 
sion or  cutting  up  of  the  victims  offered  in  sacrifice.  The  Ram, 
or  Aries,  to  which  Bara  corresponds  in  the  zodiac,  was  one  of  the 
animals  usually  selected  for  such  purposes;  as  for  instance,  the 
Ram  offered  in  ratification  of  the  covenant  between  God  and  Abra- 
ham (Gen.  xv.  9-17  ;  xxii.  13-18). 

The  difference  between  the  Assyrian  and  Hebrew  methods  of 
representing  the  cosmos  by  means  of  the  temple  was  mainly  in  this  : 
while  the  Assyrians  employed  two  separate  edifices,  one  put  for 

1  Vid.  Delitzsch,  Assyr.  Studien,  H.  i.  p.  127,  note.  The  author  objects  to  the 
signification  of  "altar  "  for  the  Assyrian  Pa-rak-ku;  but  his  reasons  for  it  are  not 
pertinent.  The  idea  of  "division,"  "cutting,"  appertains  especially  to  the 
altar,  and  is  inherent  in  the  Accadian  Bara.  At  the  same  time,  the  notion  of  the 
vail,  separating  the  two  chief  apartments  of  the  temple,  and  symbolically  repre- 
senting the  primary  division  of  the  chaos,  is  also  perfectly  in  accord  with  the  facts 
already  developed  in  these  pages.  The  author  is  thus  correct  in  assimilating  the 
Pa-rak-ku  to  the  Hebrew  Pa-ro-keth,  "  vail." 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  141 

heaven  and  the  superior  hemisphere,  the  other  for  the  earth  assimi- 
lated to  the  lower  hemisphere,  the  Hebrews  embodied  the  same 
notions  in  the  two  chief  apartments  of  one  and  the  same  edifice, 
these  being  divided  by  a  vail.  The  genesis  of  the  Hebrew  taber- 
nacle from  the  pyramidal  temple  is  now  perfectly  plain.  For  the 
superior  sanctuary  of  a  cubical  form  representing  heaven,  and  con- 
stituting the  eighth  stage  of  the  pyramid,  the  tabernacle  substitutes 
the  Holy  of  Holies,  also  of  a  cubical  form,  representing  the  celes- 
tial region.  The  seven  stages  of  the  pyramid,  symbols  of  the  seven 
lights  of  the  earth,  are  replaced  by  the  candlestick  with  seven 
branches,  placed  in  the  outer  sanctuary.  The  base  of  the  pyramid 
and  the  sanctuary  therein  answer  to  the  outer  tabernacle,  both  being 
designed  to  represent  the  earth.  The  pyramidal  temples,  as  Dr. 
Bahr  has  shown,  were  primitive  in  all  Asia.  But  with  the  Phoani- 
cians  and  Hebrews  the  same  doctrines  had  been  given  a  material 
expression  somewhat  different.  The  design  in  all  was  to  represent 
by  an  artificial  structure,  as  a  fit  abode  of  the  divinity,  the  house 
built  by  the  Deity  himself,  or  in  other  words,  the  cosmos,  such  being 
the  archetypal  abode  of  the  Supreme  Being.  All  the  ancient  cos- 
mical  theories  centred  in  these  fundamental  ideas. 

The  statement  has  been  made  that  the  world,  or  cosmos,  was 
regarded  as  a  temple  by  the  classic  nations.  This  is  a  fact  too  well 
known  to  require  much  testimony  in  substantiating  it.  Dr.  Bahr 
cites  a  multitude  of  authorities  to  this  effect,  whose  names  even  are 
too  numerous  to  appear  here ;  and  we  must  refer  the  learned  reader 
to  the  various  passages  quoted  by  him.1  The  author  himself  re- 
marks :  — 

"  As  before  said,  it  is  a  conception  not  at  all  peculiar  to  the 
Hebrews,  but  common  to  all  the  (ancient)  nations,  and  inseparable 
from  their  notion  of  God,  to  represent  the  world  as  a  building  or  a 
house  of  the  divinity,  and  the  heaven  as  his  especial  dwelling-place. 
The  universe,  but  in  a  special  sense  the  heaven,  is  the  real,  true 
temple,  built  by  the  Deity  himself ;  and  this,  as  the  original  tem- 
ple, constituted  the  model,  the  archetype,  of  all  those  constructed  by 
man."  2 

Beside  the  authorities  pertaining  to  India,  China,  Egypt,  and 
Babylon,  the  author  musters  the  writings  of  Philo,  Plutarch,  Clem- 

1  Vid.  Symbolik,  etc.,  i.  pp.  91-103,  text  and  notes. 
8  Ibid.,  pp.  94,  95. 


142 


HAR-MOAD. 


ent  of  Alexandria,  Macrobius,  Varro,  etc.,  in  support  of  the  above 
statement.  Herr  Nissen,  in  a  recent  and  critical  treatise  upon  the 
temple,  holds  substantially  the  same  opinion,  especially  with  respect 
to  the  classic  nations.1  But  these  references  will  suffice  on  a  point 
so  generally  understood  among  scholars. 

Fundamental  in  all  these  ideas  is  the  notion  that  God  dwells, 
which  was  inseparable  from  the  notion  itself  of  divinity.  The  uni- 
verse, or  the  house  built  by  the  Deity  for  his  own  habitation,  is  thus 
the  model  upon  which  all  artificial  temples  or  dwellings  of  God  are 
constructed.  From  thence  proceeds  the  fact,  as  already  stated,  that 
the  theories  of  the  cosmos  and  of  the  temple  are  substantially  the 
same  ;  so  that  if  we  would  understand  the  ancient  cosmogonies,  it 
is  necessary  first  to  study  the  doctrine  of  the  temple.  Undoubtedly, 
the  divinity  of  the  hearth  was  one  of  the  chief  producing  causes 
which  determined  the  course  of  thought  in  antiquity,  in  relation  to 
these  subjects ;  hence  the  fact  that  every  house  was  in  some  sense  a 
temple.  It  is  upon  the  same  ground  of  the  fundamental  relation  of 
the  temple  to  the  cosmos  that  the  chief  divinities  of  the  ancient 
temple-craft  were  uniformly  regarded  as  concerned  in  the  fabrica- 
tion of  the  world.  But  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  more  testi- 
mony exclusively  designed  to  establish  the  fundamental  principle 
that  the  process  of  creating  the  world  and  the  method  of  construct- 
ing the  temple  were  esteemed  the  same,  and  that  this  process  was 
believed  to  be  one  of  division.  The  progress  of  these  investigations 
will  tend  continually  to  the  support  of  this  doctrine,  which  is  al- 
ready, I  presume,  quite  apparent  to  the  reader's  mind.  It  is  on 
account  of  its  superlative  importance  that  I  desire  to  place  it 
beyond  all  question. 

SEC.  55.  We  proceed  now  to  the  study  of  the  practical  applica- 
tion, in  constructing  the  temple,  of  the  principle  of  division  upon 
which  we  have  so  much  insisted ;  upon  the  particular  methods,  also, 
according  to  which  it  was  attempted  to  model  the  temple  after  its 
archetype,  the  cosmos.  The  original  temple  of  the  Etrusco-Romans 
will  serve  an  admirable  initiative  to  this  part  of  our  subject.  We 
introduce  here  several  extracts  from  Dr.  William  Smith's  "  Diction- 
ary of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities."  Upon  the  subject  of  the 
Auspices,  the  author  has  the  following  :  — 

"  The  ordinary  manner  of  taking  the  auspices  was  as  follows.  The 
1  Das  Templum,  pp.  2-4. 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN   COSMOGONY.  143 

augur  went  out  before  the  dawn  of  day,  and,  sitting  in  an  open  place 
with  his  head  veiled,  marked  out  with  a  wand  the  divisions  of  the 
heavens.  Next  he  declared,  in  a  solemn  form  of  words,  the  limits 
assigned,  making  shrubs  or  trees,  called  tesqua,  his  boundary  on 
earth  correspondent  to  that  in  the  sky.  The  templum  augurale, 
which  appears  to  have  included  both,  was  divided  into  four  parts : 
those  to  the  east  and  west  were  termed  sinutrce  (left)  and  dextrce 
(right)  ;  to  the  north  and  south,  anticce  (before)  and  posticce  (be- 
hind)." (Art.  Auspicium.) 

In  this  instance,  the  person  is  supposed  to  face  the  south;  in 
which  case  the  left  hand  would  be  east,  the  right  hand  west,  etc. 
In  Western  Asia,  according  to  a  very  ancient  custom,  the  spectator 
was  supposed  to  face  the  east  in  such  manner  that  the  left  or  left 
hand  was  put  for  the  north,  the  right  hand  for  the  south,  etc.  The 
terminology  of  the  cuneiform  texts  supposes  this  custom,  and  it 
seems  to  have  been  common  to  all  the  Semitic  nations;  thus,  the 
Hebrew  Semol,  Aramean  Shemal,  Assyrian  Su-mi-lu,  English  Sam- 
uel, signified  "  left,  left  hand,"  and  ordinarily  designated  the  north, 
north  pole,  or  North  Star.  The  Accadian  terminology  conforms  to 
the  same  ideas.  The  Etrusco-Roman  method  was  different,  for 
reasons  which  Dr.  Smith  will  explain  in  another  extract.  We  see 
that  the  augural  temple  was  laid  out  with  reference  to  the  cardinal 
points,  or  the  primary  divisions  of  the  heavens  from  east  to  west 
and  from  north  to  south.  This  is  important  to  bear  in  mind ;  and 
not  less  the  fact,  also,  that  the  temple  thus  constructed  was  sup- 
posed to  include  two  elements:  a  cut-off  space  on  the  earth's  sur- 
face correspondent  to  a  similar  space  in  the  heavens,  these  being 
put  in  direct  relation  to  each  other.  The  system  of  land  measuring 
involved  a  further  development  of  these  principles,  and  Dr.  Smith 
thus  explains  it :  — 

"  As  partitioners  of  land,  the  Agrimensores  were  the  successors 
of  the  augurs,  and  the  mode  of  their  limitatio  (divisions)  was  de- 
rived from  the  old  augural  method  of  forming  the  ternplum.  The 
word  templum,  like  the  Greek  temenos,  simply  means  a  division ; 
its  application  to  signify  the  vault  of  the  heavens  was  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  directions  were  always  ascertained  according  to  the 
true  cardinal  points  (a).  At  the  inauguration  of  a  king  or  consul, 
the  augur  looked  toward  the  east,  and  the  person  to  be  inaugurated 
toward  the  south.  Now,  in  a  case  like  this,  the  person  to  be  inaug- 
urated was  considered  the  chief,  and  the  direction  in  which  he 
looked  was  the  main  direction.  Thus  we  find  that  in  the  case  of 


144 


HAR-MOAD. 


land  surveying  the  augur  looked  to  the  south ;  for  the  gods  were 
supposed  to  be  in  the  north,  and  the  augur  was  considered  as  look- 
ing in  the  same  manner  in  which  the  gods  looked  upon  the  earth 
(6).  Hence  the  main  line  in  land  surveying  was  drawn  from  north 
to  south,  and  was  called  Cardo,  as  corresponding  to  the  axis  of  the 
world ;  the  line  which  cut  it  was  termed  Decumanus,  because  it 
made  the  figure  of  a  cross,  like  the  numeral  X  (e).  These  two  lines 
were  produced  to  the  extremity  of  the  ground  which  was  to  be  laid 
out,  and  parallel  to  these  were  drawn  other  lines,  according  to  the 
size  of  the  quadrangle  required  (d).  The  limits  of  these  divisions 
were  indicated  by  balks,  called  limites,  which  were  left  as  high- 
roads, the  ground  for  them  being  deducted  from  the  land  to  be 
divided."  (Art.  Agrimensores.) 

We  add  here  several  notes,  in  the  order  of  the  letters  introduced 
into  the  foregoing  extract,  and  shall  be  obliged  in  some  instances  to 
refer  to  the  characters  which  the  reader  finds  engraven  in  our  sec- 
ond plate. 

(a)  Dr.  Smith  seems  to  think  that  the  application  of  the  terms 
templum  and  temenos  to  the  vault  of  heaven,  conceived  as  a  temple, 
was  in  a  measure  accidental,  growing  out  of  the  practice  of  mark- 
ing out  the  divisions  according  to  the  directions  of  the  cardinal 
points.  In  my  view  this  application  proceeded  from  fundamental 
ideas.  That  which  'constituted  a  templum,  a  temenos,  was  division, 
according  to  the  meaning  of  these  terms.  It  was  the  primary  divi- 
sions of  the  celestial  space  that  constituted  it  in  general  a  temple, 
and  the  corresponding  divisions  of  the  earth's  surface  that  made  it 
also  a  temple ;  and,  in  fact,  any  space  thus  divided,  limited,  was  a 
tern,  a  temple,  so  constituted  by  the  simple  act  of  division. 

(6)  The  conception  locating  the  divinities  in  the  north  was  very 
ancient,  and  widely  prevalent;  it  was  doubtless  of  Asiatic  origin, 
and  our  future  investigations  will  tend  to  explain  the  reason  of  it. 
That  the  main  line  was  considered  that  drawn  from  north  to  south, 
called  Cardo,  is  a  matter  of  some  doubt,  I  believe,  but  it  is  not 
of  material  consequence  to  us  at  present. 

(<?)  There  were  certain  doors,  or  gates,  turning  on  pivots  project- 
ing from  the  ends,  and  belonging  to  the  temples,  palaces,  and  even 
private  dwellings  in  common  use  among  the  Romans.  They  were 
called  Cardo,  and  Mr.  Smith  has  these  remarks  in  reference  to 
them :  — 

"  The  form  of  the  door  above  delineated  makes  it  manifest  why 


W 


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MOSAIC   AND   BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  145 

the  principal  line  laid  down  in  surveying  land  was  called  Cardo  ; 
and  it  further  explains  the  application  of  the  same  terra  to  the 
north  pole,  the  supposed  pivot  on  which  the  heavens  revolved.  The 
lower  extremity  of  the  universe  was  conceived  to  turn  upon  another 
pivot,  corresponding  to  that  at  the  bottom  of  the  door ;  and  the 
conception  of  these  two  principal  points  in  geography  and  astronomy 
lead  to  the  application  of  the  same  term  to  the  east  and  west  also. 
Hence  our  four  points  of  the  compass."  (Art.  Cardo.^) 

The  author  himself  shows  here  very  plainly  that  the  conception 
of  the  entire  cosmos  included  between  the  two  poles,  as  a  house,  or 
temple,  must  have  been  fundamental  and  quite  primitive  among  the 
Romans.  Nothing  more  conclusive  could  be  desired,  to  the  effect 
that  the  cosmos  and  the  temple  were  associated,  and  that  the  theory 
of  both  had  for  its  base  the  notion  of  division.  Every  building,  in 
fact,  whose  divisions  corresponded  to  the  cardinal  regions  was  in 
some  sense  a  temple  and  an  image  of  the  world.  The  two  lines 
called  Cardo  and  Decumanus  cut  each  other  in  a  manner  to  form 
the  image  of  a  cross.  These  were  the  fundamental  divisions,  not 
only  of  the  cosmos,  but  of  the  temple  and  the  system  of  land  sur- 
veying. This  calls  to  mind  the  symbol  of  the  god  Ann  at  Babylon, 
whose  mystical  title  was  Susru,  "  the  founder,"  represented  by  the 
figure  b  shown  in  the  first  group.  It  had  reference  to  the  four  car- 
dinal positions  of  the  sun  in  its  annual  course. 

(d)  With  the  system  of  parallel  lines  cutting  each  other  at  right 
angles,  forming  thus  the  plot  of  ground  marked  off  into  identical 
squares,  compare  the  figure  h,  first  group.  This  is  the  Accadian 
sign  U  (Rep.  238),  "  to  measure,  a  measure,  a  cubit,"  etc. ;  and  it 
is  a  determinative  of  names  of  measure  in  the  metrical  system  of 
Babylon.  Various  analogies,  not  less  striking,  will  be  hereafter 
pointed  out  between  the  notions  prevalent  among  the  Romans  and 
those  expressed  by  the  written  symbols  employed  in  the  valley  of 
the  Euphrates. 

SEC.  56.  It  appears  from  the  statement  of  Dr.  Smith  introduced 
in  the  last  section:  1st.  That  the  augurial  temple  united  a  parti- 
cular celestial,  as  well  as  terrestrial  space,  corresponding  to  each 
other,  and  put  in  direct  relation.  2d.  That  the  spaces  thus  divided 
off  were  located  with  special  reference  to  the  cardinal  regions.  3d. 
That  the  system  of  territorial  divisions,  and  of  partition  of  the  soil, 
was  derived  from  the  method  of  constructing  the  temple.  4th.  The 
gate  called  Cardo,  from  which  term  our  word  cardinal  is  derived, 


146  HAR-MOAD. 


was  assimilated  to  the  axis  of  the  world,  thus  proving  that  the 
notions  of  the  cosmos  and  temple  were  associated,  proceeding  funda- 
mentally from  that  of  division.  The  four  apartments  of  the  augu- 
rial  temple  are  illustrated  in  a  diagram  by  Herr  Nissen.1  The 
figure  shown  answers  precisely  to  the  cuneiform  character  marked 
e,  first  group.  The  data  thus  derived  chiefly  from  Dr.  Smith  are 
very  important,  as  proving  the  fact  of  a  conceived  fundamental  re- 
lation between  the  temple  and  the  cosmos,  and  of  a  direct  analogy 
in  respect  to  their  theories.  The  cardinal  divisions  of  the  cosmos 
constituted  it  a  temple,  and  the  divisions  of  the  temple,  according 
to  the  cardinal  regions,  constituted  it  an  image  of  the  cosmos.  But 
Herr  Nissen,  in  the  excellent  treatise  already  cited,  has  several 
statements  confirmatory  of  those  made  by  Dr.  Smith,  and  others 
explanatory  of  different  points  connected  with  our  subject,  which 
ought  to  appear  here.  Referring  to  the  main  divisions  of  the  tern- 
plum  are  the  following  passages :  — 

"  The  limitation  (division)  proceeds  from  the  cardinal  regions  ;  a 
line  from  east  to  west,  cut  by  another  at  right  angles,  drawn  from 
north  to  south,  forms  the  basis  of  the  entire  system."  "The  doc- 
trine proceeds  from  the  first  and  most  simple  division,  suggested  by 
nature,  that  is,  into  a  day-and-night  side."  "  The  midday  line 
(meridian)  is  termed  Cardo,  because  the  heavens  turn  like  a  gate 
upon  its  hinges."  "  The  first  or  common  form  of  the  limitation  is 
the  centuriation  or  division  into  like  squares."  2 

The  division  into  a  day-and-night  side  is  suggestive  of  the  first 
day  of  creation :  "  And  God  divided  the  light  from  the  darkness ; 
and  God  called  the  light  Day,  and  the  darkness  he  called  Night ; 
and  the  evening  and  the  morning  were  the  first  day  "  (Gen.  i.  4,  5). 
The  Romans  began  the  day  at  evening,  agreeing  thus  with  the 
method  in  Genesis.  But  this  division  into  a  day-and-night  side  was 
from  north  to  south,  like  the  Cardo  ;  while  the  fundamental  divi- 
sion was  that  of  chaos  from  east  to  west,  forming  the  two  hemi- 
spheres assimilated  to  heaven  and  earth.  As  the  notion  of  the 
temple  proceeded  from  that  of  division,  so  the  town  or  city  divided 
into  squares  and  the  entire  territory  of  the  state  cut  up  into  dis- 
tricts were  both  regarded  in  some  sense  as  temples.  The  author 
explains  this  matter  in  the  subjoined  extract :  — 

"  The  principles  according  to  which  the  city  was  laid  out  were 
1  Das  Templum,  p.  16.  2  Ibid.,  pp.  11,  13,  20. 


MOSAIC   AND   BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  147 

those  of  the  system  of  land  measuring.  The  Decumanus  and  Cardo 
maximus  determined  the  direction  of  the  two  principal  streets  of 
the  city,  dividing  it  and  the  territory  occupied  by  it  into  four 
regions.  In  the  various  diagrams  illustrating  the  scheme  of  these 
divisions,  the  cross  forms  the  basis.  Our  authorities  represent  those 
forms  as  most  complete  where  the  intersection  of  the  Decumanus 
and  Cardo  maximus  falls  exactly  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  or  the 
forum  ;  and  it  is  from  this  point,  through  four  gates,  that  the  two 
main  lines  extend  each  way  over  the  entire  country,  which  is  thus 
like  the  city  divided  into  four  regions." l 

Ancient  Peru,  according  to  Mr.  Prescott's  history  of  its  conquest, 
was  laid  out  upon  the  precise  plan  here  indicated.  Not  only  the 
city,  but  the  state  itself,  was  thus  regarded  as  a  great  temple.  The 
ceremonies  in  founding  a  town  or  city,  described  by  Herr  Nissen, 
are  quite  interesting,  and  we  shall  find  here  an  explanation  of  the 
system  of  "  balks,"  to  which  Dr.  Smith  has  alluded :  — 

"  The  ancient  Italian  town  did  not  originate,  like  those  of  the 
middle  ages  and  of  modern  times,  by  a  slow  process  of  growth  from 
the  house  to  the  hamlet,  and  from  the  hamlet  to  the  town.  It  was 
created  at  once  by  a  single  politico-religious  act.  The  memory  of 
the  founder  was  perpetuated,  and  his  veneration  constituted  an 
important  part  of  the  worship  of  the  commonwealth.  Not  only 
the  memory  of  the  founder,  but  that  of  the  year  and  day  of  its 
foundation  was  also  perpetuated  by  annual  festivals.  From  this 
cause,  a  regular  ritual  for  foundations  had  grown  up.  The  founder 
of  a  town,  according  to  Cato,  yoked  to  a  plough  a  bull  and  a  cow, 
the  bull  upon  the  right  and  the  cow  upon  the  left,  the  cow  inside 
and  the  bull  outside.  With  his  head  veiled,  he  ploughed  around 
the  space  designated  for  the  site  of  the  town,  taking  care  to  turn 
all  the  sods  inward ;  for  the  turf  marked  the  line  of  the  wall,  and 
the  furrow  that  of  the  ditch.  Where  a  gate  was  to  be  located  for 
passage  in  and  out  of  the  town,  he  lifted  the  plough  out  of  the 
ground,  and  carried  it  over  the  required  distance."2 

This  explains  the  system  of  "  balks "  to  which  reference  has 
been  made.  The  author  shows  that  the  military  camp  and  even 
the  vineyard,  by  reason  of  these  divisions,  since  they  were  laid  out 
with  reference  to  the  cardinal  regions,  were  regarded  in  some  sense 
as  temples.  The  same,  also,  as  regards  the  private  dwellings. 
Everything,  in  fact,  to  which  the  fundamental  notion  of  division 
pertained  was  a  temple.  I  close  the  extracts  for  the  present,  from 
this  valuable  treatise,  with  these  remarks  of  the  author :  — 
1  Das  Templum,  pp.  58,  59.  2  Ibid.,  pp.  55,  56. 


148  HAR-MOAD. 

"  All  historical  development  proceeds  from  two  co-related  ideas, 
property  and  secure  possession.  Both  are  summed  up  in  the  notion 
of  division,  separation.  As  the  nation  separates  itself  from  the 
mass  of  nationalities,  the  race  from  the  races,  so  the  town  is  an  off- 
shoot from  other  towns,  the  class  from  other  classes,  the  house  from 
other  houses.  This  notion  of  separation,  of  division,  was  incorpo- 
rated by  the  ancients  in  the  Templum,  Greek  Temenos,  '  a  cut-off 
section,'  from  the  root  tern,  4  to  cut.'  "  1 

SEC.  57.  Identity  in  the  different  assimilation  of  things  divided, 
separated,  is  the  fundamental  law  of  mind  and  nature,  as  well  as  of 
all  historical  development.  That  the  ancients  thoroughly  appreci- 
ated it  is  a  fact  so  apparent  that  M.  Lenormant  and  M.  De  Vogue 
have  even  reproached  them  for  this  Hegelian  principle.  Hegelian, 
or  not,  it  evinces  a  profound  insight  into  the  nature  of  things,  a 
clear  perception  of  laws  which  modern  physical  science  demon- 
strates to-day  to  be  fundamental.  The  reduplication  of  identical 
squares,  resulting  from  the  process  of  division,  is  a  perfect  geomet- 
rical expression  of  these  ground  thoughts.  A  single  square  was  the 
basis  of,  and  so  to  speak  identical  with,  the  whole.  It  might  be  cut 
up  into  smaller  ones,  each  like  the  whole,  or  it  might  be  redupli- 
cated indefinitely,  in  such  manner  that  the  whole  would  be  like  its 
least  portion.  In  general,  all  space,  the  entire  sphere,  might  be 
represented  by  a  single  square.  This  being  divided  off  according  to 
fixed  methods  and  certain  fundamental  ideas  became  thus  a  sym- 
bol of  the  cosmos.  The  heavens  and  the  earth  might  be  and  actu- 
ally were  delineated  according  to  this  simple  scheme.  Every  coun- 
try, every  city  and  town,  and  even  private  dwelling,  was  thus  an 
image  of  heaven  and  earth  ;  and  as  one  was  a  temple,  all  were  for 
the  same  reason  temples  ;  as  one  was  a  cosmos,  a  world,  so  all  were 
such ;  thus  law,  unity,  light,  penetrated  through  all.  But  the  sys- 
tem which  prevailed  among  the  Etrusco-Romans  was  derived^  in  its 
main  features,  from  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates.  This  fact  is 
becoming  now  more  and  more  apparent,  as  the  results  of  cuneiform 
research  are  being  developed.  Mr.  George  Smith  only  gives  expres- 
sion to  the  opinions  justified  by  these  researches  when  he  says  :  — 

"  The  value  of  the  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  mythology  rests  not 
only  on  its  curiosity  as  the  religious  system  of  a  great  people,  but 
on  the  fact  that  here  we  must  look,  if  anywhere,  for  the  origin  and 
explanation  of  many  of  the  obscure  points  in  the  mythology  of 

1  Das   Templum,  p.  i. 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  149 

Greece  and  Rome.  It  is  evident  that  in  every  way  the  classical 
nations  of  antiquity  borrowed  far  more  from  the  valley  of  the 
Euphrates  than  that  of  the  Nile,  and  Chaldsea,  rather  than  Egypt, 
is  the  home  even  of  the  civilization  of  Europe."  l 

It  is  usually  held  by  scholars  that  the  Romans  were  mainly  in- 
debted to  the  Etruscans  for  their  sacred  science,  and  it  is  through 
the  Etruscans  principally  that  we  trace  this  science  to  the  Babylo- 
nians, or  more  properly,  perhaps,  the  Chaldaeans.  Augury,  espe- 
cially, as  practiced  by  the  Etrusco-Romans,  was  derived  in  its  main 
features  from  Chaldsea ;  and  the  augurial  temple  in  which  the  au- 
spices were  taken  constituted  the  basis  of  the  system.  M.  F.  Lenor- 
mant,  after  identifying  various  customs  of  this  class  prevailing 
among  the  Romans  with  those  described  in  the  cuneiform  texts, 
very  justly  concludes  as  follows:  u  All  these  analogies  are  such  that 
they  tend  to  make  us  see  in  the  Etruscans  the  disciples  and  direct 
inheritors  of  the  auspices  and  divinations  practiced  by  the  doctors 
of  Chaldaea  and  Babylon."  2 

But  the  Asiatic  origin  of  these  notions  pertaining  to  the  temple 
will  be  still  more  apparent  as  we  see  them  in  their  more  primitive 
form  embodied  in  the  various  symbols  exhibited  in  our  second 
plate,  to  which  we  give  now  a  more  particular  attention. 

The  figure  marked  a  of  the  first  group  exactly  represents  the 
basis  of  the  Roman  system  of  limitation  or  division  as  already  set 
forth  in  the  language  of  Herr  Nissen.  It  is  not  precisely  the  hie- 
ratic form  of  the  Accadian  Bar,  but  if  the  two  strokes  were  given 
the  wedge  shape  we  should  have  the  modern  form  of  Bar ;  a  sign 
which  with  the  phonetic  value  of  mas  signifies  "  to  cut,  to  separate, 
sword ;  "  also  "  a  measure  of  capacity  "  (Rep.  69).  It  is  analogous 
to  the  figure  b,  to  which  Susru,  the  mystical  name  of  Anu,  is 
attached,  designating  him  as  the  "  founder  "  par  excellence.  This 
is  the  Cannes  of  Berosus,  who  founds  the  Babylonian  civilization. 
In  the  bilingual  phrase,  which  explains  this  figure  by  the  term 
Susru,  it  is  preceded  by  the  sign  Griir  repeated,  which  singly  has 
the  sense  of  "to  create."  But  the  well-known  cosmical  character 
of  Anu  and  the  reference  of  this  figure  to  the  four  positions  of  the 
sun,  answering  to  the  cardinal  regions,  sufficiently  indicate  the  ref- 
erence to  the  cosmos  and  temple.  The  couplet  c  is  the  Accadian  An, 

1  Assyr.  Discoveries,  p.  451. 

2  Les  Sciences  Occultes  en  Asie ;  La  Divination,  p.  120. 


150  HAR-MOAD. 

"  elevated,  heaven,  God  "  (Rep.  4),  and  is  the  universal  characteris- 
tic of  divinity  preceding  all  divine  names.  Cuneiform  scholars, 
for  the  most  part,  believe  it  to  have  been  intended  for  a  "  star," 
being  thus  a  proof  of  the  hieroglyphic  theory  applied  to  this  system 
of  writing,  and  of  the  existence  of  star  worship  at  the  time  of  its 
invention.  This  appears  to  me  far  from  correct.  The  character 
An,  taken  alone,  does  not  signify  a  "  star,"  and  there  is  no  evidence 
that  it  ever  had  this  meaning.  Moreover,  the  Accadian  has  quite 
another  term  for  "  star,"  namely,  Mul.  The  original  reference  of 
the  figure  was  doubtless  to  the  eight  celestial  regions,  four  primary 
and  four  intermediate ;  and  hence  the  meaning  "  elevated,  heaven, 
god  ; "  but  of  this  hereafter.  The  couplet  d  exhibits  the  simplest 
element  of  a  divided  field  or  plot,  the  square.  It  is  the  Accadian 
Gil,  "  to  inclose,  to  unite,  to  assemble."  and  probably  an  "  in- 
closure  "  (Rep.  489).  It  represents  the  ground  plan  of  one  of  the 
principal  classes  of  temples  in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates.  As  a 
paleographic  symbol,  it  forms  the  basis  of  about  twenty  others  ; 
and  its  thoroughly  symbolical  character  is  susceptible  of  the  plain- 
est demonstration.  The  couplet  e  is  only  a  fuither  development  of 
that  just  considered,  and  of  the  fundamental  notion  of  division.  It 
exhibits,  as  before  observed,  the  form  of  the  augurial  temple  of  the 
Etrusco-Romans.  The  triplet /appertains  to  the  Chinese  writing, 
showing  for  the  first  and  second  forms  the  ancient  and  modern  char- 
acter Tsing,  "  a  well,"  denoting  also  "  union,  friendship."  It  is  the 
name  of  the  constellation  Gemini;  and  the  third  form  of  the  charac- 
ter represents  precisely  the  Spartan  symbol  of  the  Dioscuri,  identified 
with  Gemini  in  the  western  mythology.  These  were  the  Brothers, 
par  excellence.  The  symbol  was  constructed  with  four  pieces  of  wood, 
crossed  in  the  manner  shown  in  the  figure.  It  will  appear  here- 
after that  this  symbol  represents  exactly  the  conceived  geographical 
centre  of  the  universe,  according  to  the  traditional  notions  of  all 
Asia;  and  it  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  it  must  be  taken  as  the 
least  unit  of  all  geographical  as  well  as  political  divisions,  to  which 
may  be  added  those  of  the  temple ;  for  all  these  were  in  fact  funda- 
mentally related  to  each  other.  A  further  development  of  the  trip- 
let/ is  the  figure  g,  consisting  of  nine  identical  squares,  in  which 
the  nine  digits  are  so  arranged  as  to  equal  the  sum  fifteen,  in 
whatever  direction  three  consecutive  numbers  are  added.  It  was 
termed  the  "  planetary  seal,"  or  "  magical  square,"  and  was  sup- 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  151 

posed  to  represent  the  cosmos  or  universe.  The  central  division, 
with  the  numeral  five,  symbolized  the  soul  of  the  world ;  the  eight 
squares  surrounding  it  being  put  for  the  elements  fire,  air,  water, 
and  earth,  male  and  female.  The  figure  of  a  man  was  represented 
upon  the  seal,  and  this  denoted  that  man  was  taken  for  the  micro- 
cosm, or  universe  in  miniature.  I  derive  these  from  Dr.  Biihr, 
and  shall  return  to  their  consideration  in  the  next  section.1  The 
couplet  h  in  the  group  before  us  has  been  already  explained.  Its 
signification  of  "  measure,  to  measure,  cubit,"  etc.,  shows  its  funda- 
mental relation  to  the  system  of  land  measuring,  which  at  Rome, 
and  probably  at  Babylon,  had  its  origin  in  the  augurial  temple. 

SEC.  58.  A  brief  investigation  of  the  second  group  of  charac- 
ters, as  shown  in  the  same  plate,  will  conduct  to  the  generalizing 
principle  of  nearly  all  the  facts  which  have  been  thus  far  intro- 
duced into  the  present  chapter.  The  three  forms  marked  a  are  the 
Accadian  Mai,  "  to  complete,  to  accomplish,  to  fill;  to  inhabit, 
house ;  "  also  E,  "  house,  temple  "  (Rep.  144,  244).  In  the  hieratic 
type,  we  have  the  old  Accadian  or  Cushite  notion  of  the  temple. 
It  forms  the  basis  of  over  a  dozen  composite  signs,  of  which  the 
others  shown  in  the  same  group  are  examples.  In  the  other  char- 
acters, as  will  be  noticed,  the  four  perpendicular  lines  on  the  left 
are  contracted  to  two,  and  the  horizontal  ones  so  far  reduced  as  to 
leave  an  open  space  for  the  introduction  of  other  signs,  forming 
thus  composite  symbols.  We  introduce  here  a  brief  notice  of  the 
other  characters,  and  then  return  to  the  one  marked  a. 

The  couplet  b  has  the  value  Kisal,  "altar,  sacrifice"  (Rep.  146). 
The  altar  of  course  appertains  to  the  temple.  But  note  the  strik- 
ing symbolism  attached  to  this  sign.  The  two  parallel  lines  in- 
closed are  the  Accadian  Tab,  "to  adjust,  to  place,"  etc.  (Rep.  140). 
It  is  the  altar  that  adjusts,  makes  right,  and  such  is  the  notion  here 
involved.  We  pass  now  to  the  couplet  d,  which  has  the  values  Dak, 
"  cave,  vault ;  "  Dir,  "  blue,  deep  blue  "  (Rep.  130).  The  two  con- 
ceptions of  "  temple  "  and  "  cave  "  call  to  mind  the  "cave  worship- 
ers ;  "  but  this  cave  is  the  blue  vault  of  heaven,  of  which  the  cave 
temples  were  conceived  as  imitations.  Even  artificial  caves  were 
made  for  this  purpose,  as  is  proved  by  the  etymology  of  the  term 
Dak,  evidently  a  contraction  of  da-ak,  or  da,  "to  excavate,"  and  ok, 
"  to  make ;  "  hence,  "  to  make  an  excavation  "  (Rep.  91,  309).  The 
1  Symbolik,  etc.,  i.  p.  158. 


152 


HAR-MOAD. 


two  forms  marked  c  are  the  Accadian  Gran,  "  view,  presence,  in- 
closure  ;  "  Gri-nu,  "  presence,  plain,  field  ;  "  Kar,  "  summit,  point " 
(Rep.  155).  Gran  is  identical  with  the  Hebrew  term  (p)  in  the 
phrase  Gran-Eden,  "  Garden  of  Eden."  The  value  Kar,  "  summit," 
referred  probably  to  the  traditional  mount  of  paradise.  The  in- 
closed figure,  exhibiting  a  field  cut  up  into  squares,  has  not  been 
recognized  separately  in  the  inscriptions,  so  far  as  I  know,  but  it  is 
found  in  the  Egyptian  writing  as  a  determinative  of  home,  settled 
district,  cultivated  earth,  answering  well  to  the  conception  of  Gran- 
Eden.  Finally,  the  couplet  e  has  the  values  Neu,  Ekhi,  Luku,  all 
signifying  "  mother  "  (Rep.  148).  The  eight-rayed  star  inclosed  is 
the  Accadian  An,  "  elevated,  heaven,  god,"  as  heretofore  explained. 
Here  the  notions  of  "  temple,"  "  heaven,"  "  divinity,"  combine  in 
that  of  "  mother."  Was  the  typical  idea  of  mother  she  who  should 
bring  forth  the  "  promised  seed,"  the  divine  one  ?  No  more  exalted 
conception  of  maternity  ever  entered  the  mind  of  man.  The 
mother  here  is  herself  a  goddess,  or  her  offspring  is  a  god  !  Com- 
pare this  sign  with  the  Egyptian  method  of  representing  the  notion 
of  maternity,  for  an  illustration  of  the  difference  between  hiero- 
glyphism  and  symbolism ! 

We  return  to  the  character  marked  a,  signifying  "  house,  temple, 
to  complete,  to  accomplish,"  etc.  The  completion  of  the  house  for 
the  habitation  of  man,  of  the  temple  for  the  habitation  of  God, 
were  joyous  events  that  might  well  be  compared  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  work  of  creation  itself,  when  God  rested  from  his 
labors.  Nor  were  these  ideas  wholly  unrelated  ;  on  the  contrary  an 
inherent  analogy  existed  between  them,  for  the  temple  and  the  cos- 
mos involved  precisely  the  same  theoretical  principles,  and  were 
regarded  as  types  of  each  other.  Compare  here  the  nine  identical 
squares  on  the  left  of  the  Accadian  Mai,  "house,  temple,"  with 
those  of  the  "  magical  square,"  already  referred  to,  which  was  sup- 
posed to  represent  the  cosmos.  The  hieratic  form  of  Mai,  "  tem- 
ple," evidently  had  a  celestial  as  well  as  terrestrial  reference.  We 
see  here  primarily  a  celestial  field  limited  and  divided  off,  with  a 
view  to  locate  the  position  of  certain  asterisms,  while  the  parallel 
lines  projecting  toward  the  right  served  the  purpose  of  recording 
their  names.  It  obviously  represented  also  a  corresponding  system 
of  divisions  on  the  earth's  surface,  constituting  thus  a  regular  augu- 
rial  temple  such  as  Dr.  William  Smith  has  described  to  us.  Our 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  153 

Accadian  character  may  be  taken  for  a  definite  type  of  this  augu- 
rial  temple,  as  recognized  by  the  Chaldaean  priesthood.  Its  analogy 
with  the  "  magical  square,"  as  explained,  is  very  striking,  and  clearly 
indicates  the  assimilation  of  the  temple  to  the  cosmos,  both  proceed- 
ing from  the  one  idea  of  division,  limitation.  We  see  here,  in  the 
sign  Malt  as  compared  with  the  mystical  square,  an  illustration  of 
the  practical  application  of  the  principle  of  division  in  constructing 
the  temple  and  in  representing  the  cosmos.  The  central  division 
really  symbolized  the  centre  of  the  universe  geographically,  as  well 
as  philosophically  the  soul  of  the  world.  The  eight  divisions  sur- 
rounding it  were  the  eight  regions  of  space,  in  relation  to  which  we 
shall  cite  hereafter  some  authorities.  But  in  a  philosophic  point  of 
view,  they  were  taken  for  the  four  elements,  male  and  female, 
amounting  to  eight.  The  application  of  the  principle  of  division 
here  exhibited  was  undoubtedly  very  ancient,  and  it  appears  to  have 
been  extensively  prevalent.  Nevertheless,  it  was  not  the  only 
method,  nor  was  it  apparently  exclusively  orthodox.  With  the 
Romans,  as  we  have  seen,  only  four  divisions  were  employed,  these 
corresponding  to  the  cardinal  regions.  The  two  chief  apartments 
of  the  Hebrew  tabernacle  served  the  same  purpose,  as  they  rep- 
resented the  two  chief  divisions  of  the  cosmos,  heaven  and  earth. 
Everywhere  the  fundamental  idea  of  cutting,  dividing,  prevailed, 
but  its  practical  application  in  moulding  the  temple  into  an  image 
of  the  cosmos  seems  to  have  varied  with  different  peoples.  Even 
the  numbers  twelve,  sixteen,  thirty-six,  etc.,  appear  to  have  been 
adopted  at  times,  but  these  were  merely  expressions  of  fundamental 
ideas,  and  are  probably  not  to  be  regarded  as  in  any  sense  typical. 
The  numbers  eight  and  nine,  however,  must  have  been  very  an- 
cient, and  had  become  in  a  measure  traditional,  as  we  shall  soon 
show.  These  two  modes  were  not  essentially  different ;  for  all  de- 
pended upon  the  manner  of  representing  the  central  space,  whether 
as  a  square  surrounded  by  eight  others,  or  as  a  common  divergent 
point  from  which  the  eight  regions  radiated,  as  represented  in  the 
eight-rayed  star,  or  Accadian  An,  to  which  reference  has  been 
made. 

Another  point  of  difference  is  to  be  noticed  here.  It  is  evident 
that  the  theoretical  divisions  of  the  temple,  particularly  of  the 
augurial  temple,  were  not  literally  represented  always  in  material 
structures,  at  least  so  far  as  regards  the  ground  plan.  The  nine 


154 


HAR-MOAD. 


divisions  of  the  Accadian  Character  Mai  must  be  taken  as  in  some 
sense  embodying  the  doctrine  of  the  temple;  but  no  edifices  of 
this  class  in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  were  thus  divided  off,  so 
far  as  my  knowledge  extends.  The  same  probably  might  be  said 
of  the  Roman  temples,  as  compared  with  the  plot  marked  out  by 
the  augur  in  taking  the  auspices.  It  is  a  fact  that  the  axis  of  the 
Roman  temple,  as  actually  constructed,  rarely  corresponded  to  any 
one  of  the  cardinal  regions,  while  the  augtirial  temple  was  designed 
with  especial  reference  to  them.  Nevertheless,  both  were  conceived 
as  images  of  the  cosmos.  It  would  be  difficult  to  explain,  perhaps, 
precisely  how  the  doctrines  of  the  one  were  materially  embodied 
in  the  other,  yet  originally  they  must  have  been  closely  related. 
It  is  quite  obvious  that,  in  some  instances,  while  the  chief  apart- 
ments represented  the  chief  divisions  of  the  cosmos,  the  others  were 
materially  expressed  by  means  of  ascending  stages,  or  by  a  certain 
mystical  arrangement  of  steps  leading  from  one  apartment  to  an- 
other. In  some  way,  as  we  may  justly  infer,  the  fundamental  con- 
ceptions were  always  materially  expressed  ;  but  it  would  require  a 
separate  treatise  to  explain  the  various  methods  in  detail. 

SEC.  59.  Having  sufficiently  verified  the  general  principle, 
namely,  that  creation  was  conceived  as  a  temple,  and  the  temple 
as  an  image  of  creation,  the  process  of  division  being  regarded  as 
fundamental  in  both ;  having  also  illustrated  the  practical  applica- 
tion of  the  system  of  divisions  in  constructing  the  temple  after  the 
model  of  the  universe,  it  remains  to  submit  some  evidences  tending 
to  show  the  origin  of  these  notions,  as  well  as  their  immense  anti- 
quity. In  doing  so,  still  other  proofs  of  the  correctness  of  the 
views  already  put  forth  will  be  found  multiplying  upon  our  hands. 
We  return  to  the  consideration  of  the  magical  square  marked  g  in 
the  first  group,  especially  in  connection  with  the  figure  that  pre- 
cedes it,  being  the  third  form  of  the  triplet  /,  the  Chinese  character 
Tsing,  "  a  pit  or  well,"  also  "  union,  friendship."  As  before  said, 
the  Spartan  symbol  of  the  Dioscuri,  one  with  Gemini,  or  the  Twins, 
was  constructed  of  four  pieces  of  wood  crossed  in  the  manner  shown 
in  this  figure.  The  zodiacal  sign  Gemini  is  but  a  contraction  of  the 
same  symbol.  The  ancient  Chinese  form  shows  "  a  well "  in  the 
centre,  with  the  four  pieces  of  wood  so  arranged  as  to  prevent 
the  debris  from  falling  back  into  the  pit.  As  before  observed,  the 
third  form  answers  exactly  to  the  least  unit  in  geographical  and 


MOSAIC   AND   BABYLONIAN   COSMOGONY.  155 

political  divisions,  as  well  as  those  in  land  surveying,  and  we  pro- 
ceed to  show  that  it  represented  the  geographical  centre  of  the 
earth.  M.  Lenormant  remarks  as  follows  :  — 

"  We  have  noticed  already  the  system  of  geography,  essentially 
symbolic  and  inspired  by  religious  conceptions,  which  plays  a  fun- 
damental part  in  the  Book  of  Astrology,  compiled  by  the  orders  of 
King  Sargon,  the  ancient,  some  two  thousand  years  before  our  era. 
He  considers  the  country  of  Accad  or  Chaldsea  as  situated  at  the 
centre  of  the  universe,  and  bounded  by  four  countries  that  cor- 
respond exactly  to  the  four  cardinal  regions :  llama  is  east,  Martu 
is  west,  G-utium  is  north,  and  Subarti  is  south." 1 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  symbolical  scheme  of  geography,  so  sin- 
gular in  its  nature,  is  perfectly  represented  by  the  figure  constitut- 
ing the  Spartan  symbol  of  the  Dioscuri ;  and  as  Akkad  is  here  put 
for  the  centre  of  the  world,  so  the  symbol  itself  represents  this  cen- 
tre. But  the  notion  had  been  inherited  traditionally  by  the  Acca- 
dians,  in  common  with  other  ancient  nations  widely  separated. 
The  author  just  cited  continues :  — 

"  This  system  offers  the  most  striking  analogies  with  that  of  the 
division  of  India  by  the  Aryans  into  four  regions,  east,  south,  west, 
and  north."  "  Thus,  we  know  that  for  the  Aryans  of  India,  this 
systematic  division  of  the  vast  region  where  they  had  established 
themselves  was  a  reproduction  of  their  symbolical  and  legend- 
ary conception  of  the  world,  divided  into  four  Mahadvipa^  great 
islands,  or  continents,  grouped  according  to  the  four  cardinal  re- 
gions around  the  central  continent  Madhyadvipa,  in  the  midst  of 
which  Meru  elevated  itself,  watered  by  the  four  rivers  descending 
from  the  sacred  mount."  2 

Mt.  Meru  was  supposed  to  be  situated  geographically  at  the  cen- 
tre of  the  universe ;  so  that  we  have  here  the  same  scheme  as  that 
pertaining  to  Accad  and  India.  The  allusion  here  is  to  the  sacred 
mount  of  paradise,  the  abode  of  the  first  human  pair,  which  has 
been  identified  with  the  plateau  of  Pamir,  situated  east  of  the  Cas- 
pian Sea.  This,  too,  was  traditionally  of  a  square  figure,  bounded 
by  four  countries  like  Accad,  and  M.  Lenormant  traces  to  it,  as  the 
divergent  centre  of  the  human  races,  this  entire  system  of  sym- 
bolical geography,  as  will  appear  in  the  subjoined  extract :  — 

"In    order  to  discover  the  origin   of  the  analogy,  so  direct,  or 

1  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  321.  2  Ibid.,  p.  322. 


156 


HAR-MOAD. 


rather  the  identity,  betweeh  the  geographic  system  of  the  Chaldaean 
book  of  astrology  and  the  conceptions  of  India,  it  is  necessary  to  go 
back  to  the  common  source  of  primitive  tradition  respecting  the  ter- 
restrial paradise,  considered  as  a  plateau  of  a  square  figure,  having 
its  four  sides  turned  toward  the  four  cardinal  points,  surrounded  by 
four  great  countries  also  facing  the  cardinal  regions,  and  watered  by 
four  rivers  that  take  their  rise  from  the  central  plain."  l 

We  shall  treat  more  at  length  upon  these  primitive  traditions 
centring  in  Mt.  Meru  in  another  chapter.  The  symbolical  geogra- 
phy of  Accad,  like  that  of  the  Aryans  of  India  and  various  other 
nations  of  antiquity,  was  a  sacred  inheritance  from  the  conceived 
first  abode  of  humanity,  to  which  also  a  similar  scheme  was  at- 
tached. As  this  paradisiacal  mountain  was  regarded  as  the  centre 
of  the  world,  so  were  all  imitations  of  it.  In  every  instance  the 
scheme  answered  geographically  to  the  geometrical  figure  constitut- 
ing the  symbol  of  the  Dioscuri ;  that  is,  a  region  conceived  as  a 
square  bounded  by  four  others  situated  in  the  direction  of  the  cardi- 
nal points.  The  limits  of  these  four  countries  joining  the  central 
one  were  of  course  well  defined  ;  but  the  outer  limits  were  not  sup- 
posed to  be  known,  and  were  left  as  indefinite.  The  constellation 
Gemini,  to  which  the  Chinese  Tsing  was  applied,  was  regarded  as 
the  celestial  "  well,"  the  source  of  the  celestial  waters ;  and  in  this 
respect  answered  to  the  Hindu  conception  of  the  heavenly  Ganges, 
from  which  the  four  sacred  rivers  of  paradise  were  supplied.2 
Thus,  the  symbol  of  the  Dioscuri  is  by  this  means  directly  con- 
nected with  the  paradisiacal  mount,  conceived  centre  of  the  world, 
and  divergent  point  of  all  geographical  divisions.  Again,  in  Asiatic 
mythology  this  asterism  was  associated  rather  with  the  first  human 
pair  than  with  the  two  brothers,  Castor  and  Pollux,  as  in  the  west- 
ern mythologies.  The  Hindu  zodiac  represents  the  sign  Gemini 
by  a  man  and  woman,  instead  of  by  two  male  figures.8  The  Hindu 
Tama  and  Tami,  conceived  as  the  first  human  pair,  derive  their 
names  from  Gem-ini,  denoting  the  constellation  which,  in  China, 

1  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  322. 

2  Vid.  Schlegel,  UranograpUe  Chinois,  p.  406.     Cf.,  for  the  verification  of  the 
various   statements  in  the  text  relative  to  Tsing,  pp.  405-411  and  673-681.     On 
the  celestial  Ganges  consult  Obry,  Du  Berceau,  etc.,  p.  19. 

8  Asiatic  Researches,  ii.  p.  303,  plate  opposite.  Cf.  Schlegel,  op.  cit.,  from 
whom  it  appears  that  the  Egyptians  and  other  nations  represented  Gemini  by  a 
man  and  woman. 


MOSAIC   AND   BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  157 

was  represented  as  the  celestial  "  well."  l  Here  we  trace  again  the 
direct  connection  of  the  symbol  in  question  with  the  sacred  mount 
of  paradise.  Finally,  M.  Lenormant  has  stated  the  fact  that  the 
pyramidal  temples  of  Chaldaea  were  considered  as  imitation,  as  arti- 
ficial reproduction,  of  the  traditional  mount  of  paradise  (Sec.  33). 
This  notion  of  a  terrestrial  region,  then,  conceived  in  the  form  of  a 
square,  and  bounded  by  four  countries  facing  the  four  cardinal 
points,  —  this  notion,  I  say,  inherited  from  the  paradisiacal  mount 
regarded  as  central  point  of  the  universe,  was  associated  definitely 
with  the  Chaldean  temple,  since  the  latter  was  expressly  designed  as 
an  imitation  of  the  sacred  mountain.  Hence,  the  temple  itself  was 
regarded  by  analogy  a  centre  of  the  universe,  like  Mt.  Meru.  It  was 
quite  common  in  antiquity  to  represent  the  national  temple  as  the 
geographical  centre,  not  only  of  the  territory  belonging  to  the  state, 
but  of  the  world  itself.  The  divisions  of  the  national  domain  into 
provinces,  proceeding  from  the  temple  as  the  common  centre,  were 
thus  allied  to  the  geographical  divisions  of  the  world.  The  original 
type  of  the  entire  system  was  the  sacred  mount,  traditionally  the 
abode  of  primeval  humanity.  The  Spartan  form  of  the  character 
Tsing,  connected,  as  we  have  seen,  with  the  traditional  geography 
of  paradise,  was  thus  associated  with  the  temple  conceived  as  an 
artificial  reproduction  of  the  mount  of  paradise ;  and  in  either  case 
it  represented  the  centre  of  the  universe,  as  well  as  the  unit  of  all 
geographical  and  territorial  divisions.  The  association  of  this  sym- 
bol is  proved  again  from  the  fact  that  Gemini  answers  to  the  Ac- 
cadian  month  called  "month  of  the  brick,"  or  "month  of  construc- 
tions in  brick."  The  symbolical  scheme  of  divisions,  then,  of  which 
Accad  formed  the  centre,  similar  to  that  in  vogue  among  other 
nations  widely  separated,  was  only  part  and  parcel  of  the  theory  of 
the  temple  and  of  the  cosmos  which  had  been  inherited  in  common 
from  the  primitive  home  of  mankind. 

SEC.  60.  But  the  Chaldyean  temple,  as  shown  by  the  cuneiform 
character  Mai,  was  connected  not  only  with  the  Spartan  symbol 
referred  to,  but  with  the  system  of  nine  identical  squares,  constitut- 
ing the  planetary  seal,  designed  especially  to  represent  the  cosmos. 
This  shows  that  the  two  figures  were  fundamentally  related  to  each 

1  Whitney,  Oriental  and  Linguistic  Studies,  p.  45.  The  author  states  that  Tama 
was  traditionally  the  first  man,  Tima,  his  sister,  the  first  woman,  and  he  derives 
the  name  etymologically  from  the  Latin  gem-inL 


158 


HAR-MOAD. 


other,  and  to  the  entire  system  of  divisions  which  has  been  ex- 
plained. In  China  the  character  Tsing,  u  a  well,"  was  directly 
associated  both  with  the  partitions  of  the  soil  designed  for  cultiva- 
tion, and  with  the  territorial  divisions  of  the  state  into  provinces, 
in  each  case  connected  likewise  with  the  system  of  nine  squares. 
Dr.  Schlegel  thus  describes  the  allotments  of  the  soil  constituting 
the  unit  of  Chinese  society :  "  In  antiquity  nine  lots  of  cultivators 
formed  a  well ;  four  wells  formed  an  indosure,  and  four  inclosures 
formed  a  community"  1 

In  this  scheme,  9x4x4  =  144  families  as  constituting  a  commu- 
nity. The  number  144  occurring  in  a  connection  so  singular  re- 
minds us  of  some  of  the  mystical  numbers  employed  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse by  the  Revelator.  But  we  see  here  the  character  Tsing,  cor- 
responding to  the  symbol  of  the  Dioscuri  applied  to  the  zodiacal 
sign  Gemini,  and  connected  with  the  traditional  geography  of  Eden 
as  centre  of  the  world,  placed  in  direct  relation  to  the  other  figure 
consisting  of  nine  squares,  representing  alike  the  cosmos  and  the 
Chaldsean  temple.  Another  fact  stated  by  Dr.  Schlegel,  in  the 
words  of  an  extract  from  the  Chinese  writings,  is  still  more  remark- 
able :  — 

"Since  nothing  is  comparable  to  water  for  the  purpose  of  level- 
ing, it  is  for  this  reason  that  the  constellation  Tsing  is  the  image  of 
rules  for  founding  the  state,  for  tracing  out  the  plan  of  the  capital, 
for  the  demarcation  of  desert  places,  and  for  the  divisions  of  the 
soil."  2 

The  term  Tsing,  denoting  "  a  well,"  put  also  for  the  source  of 
celestial  waters  or  the  constellation  Gemini,  became  the  symbol  of 
the  level,  of  equality,  since  water  in  a  basin  was  the  primitive  instru- 
ment for  determining  levels,  or  differences  in  altitude.  It  became 
also  a  symbol  of  an  equal  and  just  distribution  of  the  soil,  probably 
derived  from  the  original  custom  of  apportioning  nine  lots  to  a  well, 
as  set  forth  in  the  preceding  extract.  But  it  was,  more  than  all 
this,  directly  associated  with  the  regulations  for  founding  a  state, 
and  for  laying  out  the  plan  of  the  capital,  for  the  territorial  divi- 
sions, etc.  It  is  impossible  not  to  see  in  these  notions  a  traditional 
inheritance,  on  the  part  of  the  founders  of  Chinese  civilization, 
of  the  same  doctrines  concerning  the  temple,  the  method  of  land 


Uranograpkie  Chinois,  pp.  222,  223. 


2  Ibid.,  p.  408. 


MOSAIC   AND  BABYLONIAN   COSMOGONY.  159 

division,  and  of  geographical  divisions  generally,  which  have  been 
found  to  exist  among  the  Etrusco-Romans  and  the  populations  of 
the  Euphrates  valley,  —  a  traditional  inheritance,  I  say,  common  to 
these  various  nationalities  so  widely  separated.  That  which  tends 
most  strongly  to  prove  this  community  of  origin  is  the  fact  that  the 
Chinese  Tsing,  corresponding  to  the  Spartan  symbol  of  the  Dios- 
curi, and  referring  always  to  the  constellation  Gemini,  appears 
everywhere  to  represent  the  fundamental  conception. 

I  wish  to  add  here  some  further  testimony  relating  especially  to 
the  system  of  nine  squares,  representing  alike  the  cosmos  and  the 
Chaklaean  temple.  In  reference  to  the  territorial  divisions  of  the 
ancient  Chinese  empire,  Dr.  Ba'hr  remarks :  — 

"  The  entire  earth  was  divided  into  nine  countries ;  the  emperor 
was  styled  the  regent  of  the  nine  earths,  and  the  highest  officers 
of  state,  the  mandarins,  were  divided  into  nine  orders.  Under  the 
successors  of  the  ancient  Emperor  Yao,  who  constructed  the 
nine  canals,  the  kingdom  was  divided  according  to  the  four  cardinal 
regions,  and  four  mountains  were  taken  as  corresponding  to  these 
regions ;  over  each  a  chief  ruler  was  placed,  and  twelve  mandarins, 
answering  to  the  twelve  zodiacal  signs,  ruled  over  the  people. 
Somewhat  later,  the  entire  kingdom  was  divided  into  nine  pro- 
vinces, each  of  which  had  its  ruler,  but  the  middle  province  Ki  was 
governed  by  the  emperor,  and  the  palace  was  situated  in  the  centre 
of  it."  i 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  that  the  system  of  nine  squares 
was  applied  on  a  grand  scale  to  the  earth,  which  accords  with  the 
notion  of  the  cosmos  as  represented  by  it ;  and  then  to  the  nine 
provinces  of  the  kingdom,  evidently  conceived  for  this  reason  as  an 
image  of  the  world.  The  middle  province  Ki,  with  the  palace  in 
the  centre,  symbolized  the  geographical  centre  of  the  universe,  to 
be  compared  thus  with  Accad  in  the  mystical  geography  of  the 
early  Chaldseans.  But  a  still  earlier  territorial  division  of  China 
was  according  to  the  cardinal  regions,  four  mountains  being  assumed 
as  corresponding  to  them. 

SEC.  61.  We  show  now  the  prevalence  of  the  same  method  of 
divisions  among  the  Aryans  of  India,  but  derived  by  them  tradi- 
tionally from  Mt.  Meru,  reputed  abode  of  the  first  men.  In  rela- 
tion to  the  seven  great  insular  continents  of  the  world,  we  have  the 
following :  — 

1  Symbolik,  i.  pp.  12,  13,  notes. 


160 


HAR-MOAD. 


"  Jambu-dwipa  is  in  the'centre  of  all  these ;  and  in  the  centre  of 
this  continent  is  the  golden  mountain  Meru."  "  I  have  thus  briefly 
described  to  you,  Maitreya,  the  nine  divisions  of  Jambu-dwipa."  1 

A  passage  previously  cited  from  M.  Lenormant  has  made  us 
acquainted  with  the  fact  that  the  system  of  five  regions,  one  central 
and  four  surrounding  it,  as  represented  by  the  Spartan  symbol,  had 
formed  the  basis  of  political  divisions  in  India,  and  that  this  had 
been  derived  from  traditional  notions  centring  in  Mt.  Meru.  In 
the  above  extracts  the  method  of  nine  divisions  is  associated  with 
the  same  locality.  The  two  systems  were  thus  connected  in  India 
as  well  as  in  China ;  and  it  is  evident  that  in  both  countries  these 
conceptions  had  been  inherited  from  a  common  source,  that  source 
being  the  sacred  mount,  the  primeval  home  of  man.  The  four 
mountains  assumed  by  the  Chinese  as  corresponding  to  the  four 
cardinal  divisions  of  their  country  were  connected  by  the  Hindus 
with  their  Meru  as  abutting  or  supporting  mountains,  these  being 
located  also,  as  supposed,  according  to  the  cardinal  points.  This 
mountain  system,  consisting  of  five  summits,  connected  with  the 
central  region  of  the  world,  and  with  the  theory  of  the  cosmos,  in 
fact,  must  have  been  recognized  in  China,  and  was  doubtless  the 
basis  of  the  notion  of  four  mountains,  to  which  we  have  alluded. 
Among  the  ancient  Chinese  the  tortoise  was  a  symbol  of  the  cos- 
mos ;  the  upper  half  or  back  of  the  shell,  with  its  thirteen  divisions, 
representing  the  heavens,  that  is,  the  sun  and  twelve  zodiacal  con- 
stellations ;  while  the  lower  half  of  the  shell,  having  nine  divisions, 
was  put  for  the  earth,  the  other  chief  division  of  the  cosmos.  Dr. 
Schlegel  cites  the  following  legend :  — 

"  To  the  west  of  the  mountain  Touen  Kiao  is  situated  the  lake 
of  the  stars,  which  is  a  thousand  Chinese  li  in  length.  In  this  lake 
exists  a  divine  tortoise,  having  eight  feet  and  six  eyes.  Upon  its 
back  it  carries  the  image  of  the  Northern  Measure  (constellation  of 
the  great  Dipper),  of  the  sun,  of  the  moon,  and  of  the  eight  celes- 
tial regions.  Upon  its  lower  shell  it  has  the  image  of  the  five  sum- 
mits and  of  the  four  canals."  2 

The  five  summits  referred  to  are  evidently  the  same,  traditionally, 

as  the  Hindu  Mt.  Meru,  flanked  by  four  others  according  to  the 

directions  of  the  cardinal  points.     The  conception  in  both  cases  is 

only  a  variation  of  that  of  the  five  countries,  one  conceived  as  cen- 

1  Vishnu  Purana,  pp.  166,  178.  2  Uranographie  Chinois,  p.  61. 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  161 

tral,  the  others  bounding  it  on  the  four  sides.  The  constellation  of 
the  Dipper,  to  which  allusion  is  made,  fixes  the  original  reference  of 
the  legend  to  Mt.  Meru,  since  this  asterism  is  uniformly  associated 
with  the  sacred  mount  in  Aryan  tradition,  as  well  as  in  that  of  the 
Semitic  races.  The  four  canals  are  obviously  to  be  compared  with 
the  four  sacred  rivers,  issuing  from  a  common  source.  It  is,  then, 
in  -view  of  the  facts  now  placed  before  the  reader,  no  longer  to  be 
doubted  that  the  symbol  of  the  Dioscuri  represented  the  geographi- 
cal centre  of  the  world,  and  that  it  was  closely  connected  with  the 
magical  square,  as  a  further  development  of  it,  representing  vari- 
ously the  notions  of  the  cosmos  or  the  nine  earths,  as  in  China,  and 
finally  the  augurial  temple  of  the  Chaldaeans,  as  shown  in  the 
hieratic  sign  for  temple,  the  Accadian  Mai.  It  is  a  fact  not  less 
certain,  that  these  two  geometrical  figures  embodied  certain  tradi- 
tional conceptions,  relating  alike  to  the  temple  and  the  cosmos, 
which  had  been  inherited  in  common  by  nations  the  most  distantly 
separated  in  antiquity ;  inherited  from  that  central  region  in  high 
Asia  which  passed  for  being  the  first  abode  of  man  on  earth. 

The  tortoise,  as  we  have  seen,  was  regarded  by  the  ancient 
Chinese  as  a  symbol  of  the  cosmos.  Upon  its  back  were  supposed 
to  be  found,  among  others,  the  images  of  the  "  Northern  Bushel,"  or 
the  constellation  of  the  great  Dipper,  and  of  the  "  eight  celestial 
regions."  Here  we  have  placed  in  immediate  relation  to  each 
other :  1st.  The  notion  of  the  cosmos ;  2d.  The  seven  stars  of  the 
chariot,  or  great  Dipper ;  3d.  The  eight  celestial  regions.  These 
stars  were  definitely  associated  in  Hindu  tradition  with  the  summit 
of  Mt.  Meru,  which  was  supposed  to  pierce  the  heavens  precisely 
at  the  north  celestial  pole,  termed  by  them  the  Su-Meru.  It  was 
upon  the  summit  of  this  mountain,  around  which  these  seven  stars 
were  thought  to  turn,  that  they  located  the  palace  of  the  gods, 
which  was  thus  regarded  as  the  heaven  par  excellence.  It  answered 
literally  to  the  Cardo  of  the  Romans,  symbolized  by  the  pivot  pro- 
jecting from  the  top  of  the  door  or  gate  termed  Cardo,  as  explained 
by  Dr.  Smith.  This  word  involves  the  notion  of  "  swinging,"  as  a 
gate  on  its  hinges.  Now  the  region  of  the  sky  thus  indicated  con- 
stitutes the  exact  point  of  intersection  of  the  equinoctial  and  solsti- 
tial colures,  corresponding  to  the  four  regions,  which,  with  the  four 
intermediate  ones,  evidently  comprise  the  "  eight  celestial  regions  " 
referred  to  in  the  Chinese  legend  of  the  tortoise.  Thus,  the  gen- 


162 


HAR-MOAD. 


erative  point  of  those  regions  was  the  Su-Meru  of  the  Hindus,  the 
Cardo  of  the  Romans;  and,  as  must  be  now  obvious,  this  was  the 
very  point  indicated  by  the  eight-rayed  star,  Accadian  symbol  of 
"  heaven,  god,"  etc.,  in  the  most  ancient  inscriptions  of  Chaldaea. 
This  star,  I  say,  was  intended  to  represent  the  generative  point  of 
the  eight  regions  of  heaven,  and  this  proposed  assimilation  affords 
a  perfect  explanation  of  its  three  senses,  "elevated,  heaven,  god." 
If  the  Accadian  An,  therefore,  ever  denoted  "  a  star,"  it  could  have 
been  no  other  than  the  North  Star,  conceived  as  divergent  point  of 
the  principal  divisions  of  the  cosmos. 

SEC.  62.  The  eight  celestial  regions  were  definitely  associated 
by  the  Chinese,  as  proved  by  the  legend  of  the  tortoise,  first,  with 
the  cosmos  itself,  of  which  the  tortoise  was  a  symbol ;  and,  secondly, 
with  the  sacred  mountain,  the  Meru  of  the  Hindus,  Albordj  of  the 
Persians,  Gan-Eden  of  the  Hebrews.  The  allusion  to  the  seven 
stars  of  the  Dipper,  and  to  the  five  summits,  renders  it  certain  that 
these  notions  were  attached  traditionally  by  the  Chinese  to  the 
sacred  mount  otherwise  regarded  as  the  birthplace  of  humanity. 
Thus,  the  earliest  recollections,  not  only  of  the  Hindus,  the  Per- 
sians, and  Hebrews,  but  those  also  of  the  Chinese,  centred  in  this 
one  locality  ;  the  Har-Moad  of  Isaiah,  of  which  we  shall  have  to  do 
hereafter.  It  is  obvious  that  there  were  two  methods  of  represent- 
ing these  eight  regions  geometrically,  both  of  which  were  associated 
traditionally  with  Mt.  Meru.  One  was  by  means  of  the  eight 
squares  surrounding  a  central  one,  as  seen  in  the  cosmical  seal,  and 
in  the  Accadian  sign  Mai,  signifying  "a  temple."  Another  mode 
was  to  represent  these  regions  by  diverging  lines  from  a  common 
centre,  as  in  the  Accadian  character  An.  Both  figures  symbolized 
the  chief  divisions  of  the  cosmos.  The  subjoined  passage  from  the 
Rig- Veda,  cited  by  M.  Carre*,  shows  that  the  Hindus,  as  well  as 
Chinese,  received  the  notion  of  eight  regions :  "  Savitri  (the  sun), 
the  god  with  an  eye  of  gold,  illumes  the  eight  regions  of  the 
earth,  the  beings  who  inhabit  the  three  worlds."  l  The  three  worlds 
were  heaven,  earth,  and  the  atmosphere.  Each  was  divided  into 
the  same  number  of  regions,  and  Mt.  Meru  united  them  all  as  their 
common  centre.  It  was  from  this  point  that  all  the  divisions  of  the 
cosmos  diverged.  Usually  the  four  rivers  were  located  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  four  cardinal  points;  but  the  Buddhists  of  Thibet  made 
1  ISAncien  Orient,  i.  p.  47. 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  163 

them  correspond  with  the  four  intermediate  points.1  But  both 
Brahmans  and  Buddhists  appear  to  have  held  in  common  the  doc- 
trine of  eight  regions  diverging  from  Meru.2  Thus,  in  China  and 
in  India,  the  system  of  nine  squares  and  of  eight  regions  had 
everything  in  common,  except  that  in  the  last  instance  a  geometrical 
point  of  intersection  was  substituted  for  the  central  square  in  the 
former.  Both  figures  were  associated  with  the  primary  divisions  of 
the  cosmos,  and  definitely  with  Mt.  Meru  as  conceived  centre  of  the 
world. 

The  number  eight,  which  appears  here  in  reference  to  the  four 
primary  and  the  four  intermediate  regions,  diverging  from  the 
traditional  mount  of  paradise,  obviously  has  some  fundamental  con- 
nection with  the  eight  Cabiriac  divinities  engaged  in  the  work  of 
creating  the  world.  Recall  here  the  facts  developed  in  the  third 
chapter,  respecting  the  Accadian  Ak,  the  Egyptian  Sesun,  and 
Chinese  Kuas,  paleographic  symbols  in  which  the  numeral  eight 
appears  in  each  instance,  as  relating  definitely  to  the  work  of  crea- 
tion, and  to  the  deities  engaged  in  it.  Thus,  the  Sesun  of  the 
Egyptians  is  explained  by  M.  De  Rouge*  as  referring  to  the  eight 
gods  who  assist  Thoth  in  superintending  the  labor  of  creation ;  and 
Sir  G.  Wilkinson  finds  an  allusion  in  the  same  character  to  the 
eight  regions  ruled  by  Thoth  or  Mercury.  The  Babylonian  Mer- 
cury had  for  his  sanctuary  the  eighth  stage  of  the  temple  of  Bor- 
sippa,  which  represented  the  heaven  of  the  fixed  stars,  and  we  have 
learned  from  M.  Lenormant  that  this  and  indeed  all  the  pyramidal 
temples  of  the  Euphrates  valley  were  but  artificial  reproductions  of 
the  sacred  mount  of  paradise,  whose  summit,  as  we  have  shown, 
formed  the  generative  point  of  the  eight  regions.  Mercury  was  a 
Cabiriac  divinity,  the  Dioscuri  were  also  worshiped  as  such,  and  all 
are  found  associated  with  this  mountain  of  the  world,  from  whence 
the  divisions  of  the  cosmos  take  their  rise.  The  priests  who  pre- 
sided over  the  mysteries  of  Shemal  in  the  city  of  Haran  were  called 
Kalis,  that  is,  "  Cabiri,"  and  Shemal  himself,  as  put  for  the  North 
Star,  was  esteemed  the  -eighth  in  relation  to  the  seven  stars  of  the 
great  Dipper.  He  was  thus  the  eighth  Cabirus,  definitely  asso- 
ciated with  the  celestial  region  termed  Su-Meru  by  the  Hindus, 
Cardo  by  the  Romans,  Su-mi-lu  in  the  cuneiform  texts ;  that  is  to 

1  Vid.  Obry,  Du  Berceau,  etc.,  p.  31. 

2  On  this  point,  see  Obry,  ibid.,  pp.  1G5,  166  ;  cf.  pp.  23,  27,  45,  etc. 


164 


HAR-MOAD. 


say,  the  identical  point  in  the  heavens  from  which  the  chief  divi- 
sions of  the  cosmos  were  generated,  and  by  reference  to  which  the 
divisions  of  the  temple  were  also  located.  This  whole  doctrine  of 
the  temple  and  of  the  cosmos  is  by  these  data  definitely  connected 
with  the  Cabiri ;  and  we  thus  prove  beyond  doubt  the  truth  of  the 
statement  put  forth  in  our  third  chapter,  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
temple,  together  with  the  cosmogony  closely  related  to  it,  had  been 
transmitted  to  historical  times  through  the  ancient  temple-craft. 
The  theory  of  the  temple  and  of  the  cosmos,  inherited  by  them 
from  the  first  ages  of  the  world,  from  the  sacred  mount,  in  fact, 
traditionally  the  primitive  home  of  man,  was  that  to  which  mainly 
the  mysteries  of  the  temple-craft  appertained.  The  sacred  moun- 
tain, of  which  the  pyramidal  temple  was  an  imitation,  was  the 
model,  the  original  type,  of  all  such  constructions.  The  cosmogony, 
both  in  theory  and  in  tradition,  was  connected  with  the  temple,  and 
with  its  archetype,  the  mount  of  paradise.  The  fundamental  con- 
ception of  division  appertained  to  all ;  and  as  the  augurial  temple 
included  a  celestial  space  correspondent  to  a  terrestrial  space,  so  the 
pyramid  was  conceived  to  unite  the  heaven  and  earth,  just  as  the 
sacred  mount  united  the  paradise  of  the  gods  with  that  of  the  first 
men.  Thus,  in  view  of  all  the  facts  now  before  us,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  as  to  the  origin  of  the  profound  system  of  ideas  which 
has  constituted  the  subject  of  our  present  study ;  nor  can  there  be 
any  reasonable  question  as  to  the  medium  of  the  transmission  of 
these  doctrines  from  the  first  ages  of  the  world  to  the  historical 
period. 

SEC.  63.  As  already  stated,  the  image  of  a  man  was  engraven 
upon  the  mystical  square  representing  the  cosmos,  which  denoted 
that  man  was  conceived  as  a  microcosm,  or  the  universe  in  min- 
iature. We  have  traced  the  system  of  divisions  which  this  symbol 
of  nine  squares  presents  to  the  sacred  mount  itself,  traditionally  the 
birthplace  of  humanity.  This  accords  perfectly  with  the  history  of 
creation,  in  which  the  formation  of  man,  and  especially  his  introduc- 
tion into  the  terrestrial  paradise,  constituted  the  crowning  work  of 
the  cosmos,  appertaining  to  the  last,  the  seventh,  day  of  the  creation 
week.  Finally,  in  the  New  Testament,  man  himself  appears  as  the 
temple,  a  building  of  God,  a  dwelling-place  for  the  Divine  Spirit ; 
and  this  solves  the  enigma  as  pertains  to  the  cosmogony,  to  the 
temple,  and  to  man.  We  must  advance  one  more  step,  however,  in 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  165 

order  to  realize  it  in  all  its  significance.  The  pyramidal  temple  had 
its  eighth  stage  in  the  form  of  a  cube,  corresponding  to  the  eighth 
division  of  the  cosmos,  the  eighth  celestial  region,  the  eighth  Cabi- 
rus,  whose  symbol  was  the  cubical  stone.  The  Scriptures  recognize, 
in  point  of  fact,  an  eighth  day  of  creation,  completing  the  octave. 
The  Revelator  thus  alludes  to  it :  — 

"  And  he  carried  me  away  in  the  spirit  to  a  great  and  high  mountain,  and 
shewed  me  that  great  city,  the  holy  Jerusalem,  descending  out  of  heaven  from 
God,  having  the  glory  of  God  :  and  her  light  was  like  unto  a,  stone  most  precious, 
even  like  a  jasper  stone,  clear  as  crystal ;  and  had  a  wall  great  and  high,  and  had 
twelve  gates,  and  at  the  gates  twelve  angels,  and  names  written  thereon,  which 
are  the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel :  on  the  east  three 
gates  ;  on  the  north  three  gates;  on  the  south  three  gates;  and  on  the  west  three 
gates.  And  the  wall  of  the  city  had  twelve  foundations,  and  in  them  the  names 
of  the  twelve  apostles  of  the  Lamb.  And  he  that  talked  with  me  had  a  golden 
reed  to  measure  the  city,  and  the  gates  thereof,  and  the  wall  thereof.  And  the 
city  lieth  foursquare,  and  the  length  is  as  large  as  the  breadth  :  and  he  measured 
the  city  with  the  reed,  twelve  thousand  furlongs.  The  length  and  the  breadth  and 
the  height  of  it  are  equal.  And  he  measured  the  wall  thereof,  a  hundred  and  forty 
and  four  cubits,  according  to  the  measure  of  a  man,  that  is,  the  angel."  (Rev. 
xxi.  10-17.) 

To  show  the  connection  of  the  above  language  with  the  idea  of 
the  original  cosmos,  it  suffices  merely  to  quote  the  opening  verses 
of  the  same  chapter  :  — 

"  And  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth:  for  the  first  heaven  and  the  first 
earth  were  passed  away;  and  there  was  no  more  sea.  And  I  John  saw  the  holy 
city,  new  Jerusalem,  coming  down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride 
adorned  for  her  husband.  And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven  saying,  Be- 
hold, the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and  he  will  dwell  with  them,  and  they 
shall  be  his  people,  and  God  himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their  God  " 
(vv.  1-3). 

The  most  remarkable  points  to  be  noted  in  these  passages  are : 
1st.  The  holy  city  incloses  a  cubical  space,  like  the  Holy  of  Holies 
of  the  Hebrew  tabernacle ;  like  the  sanctuary  constituting  the 
eighth  stage  of  the  pyramidal  temple ;  like  the  Arabian  Chaaba, 
also,  whose  model  was  supposed  to  have  been  brought  from  heaven 
by  the  first  man  Adam.  To  these  must  be  added  the  dressed  stone 
of  a  cubical  form,  symbol  of  heaven,  and  likewise  of  the  eighth 
Cabirus.  2d.  The  obvious  reference  to  the  zodiacal  temple,  corre- 
sponding to  the  eighth  celestial  region,  evinced  by  the  twelve  gates, 
the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  and  the  twelve  apostles. 
3d.  The  connection  with  the  cosmos,  consisting  of  the  two  chief 
divisions,  or  heaven  and  earth.  4th.  Its  direct  relation  to  man  con- 
sidered as  the  microcosm ;  its  measures  are  assimilated  mystically 


166 


HAR-MOAD. 


to  the  measure  of  a  man;  balling  to  mind  the  image  engraven  upon 
the  mystical  square.  5th.  The  notion  of  a  dwelling-place  for  the 
deity,  upon  which  we  have  insisted  in  connection  with  the  ancient 
doctrine  of  the  temple.  6th.  And  finally,  the  great  and  high  moun- 
tain, in  which  we  have  obviously  a  reference  to  the  traditional 
mount  of  paradise,  with  which  all  these  conceptions  were  asso- 
ciated. 

We  see  in  the  doctrines  set  forth  in  the  present  chapter  the  vital 
connection  between  the  first  chapters  of  'Genesis  and  the  last  chap- 
ters of  Revelation.  The  Biblical  anthropology  is  a  perfect  corre- 
spondent of  the  Biblical  cosmogony.  To  heaven  and  earth  answer 
the  ordinary  dualistic  division  of  soul  and  body.  The  particular 
threefold  division  of  the  cosmos  into  heaven,  earth,  and  the  atmos- 
phere, constituting  the  three  worlds  of  the  ancient  Semitic  and 
Aryan  conception,  correspond  to  the  trichotomistic  powers  of  man, 
the  spirit,  soul,  and  body.  Thus,  man  is  the  true  temple,  the  real 
cosmos.  The  fundamental  relation  of  the  cosmos  and  temple,  and 
of  man  to  both,  each  conceived  as  a  dwelling  of  God,  constitutes  the 
ground  thought  of  the  two  religions  of  the  Bible. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  PARTICULAR   HEAVEN   AND   EARTH  REGARDED  AS  THE  ARCHE- 
TYPAL  TEMPLE. 

SEC.  64.  In  the  Mosaic  and  Babylonian  accounts  of  creation,  the 
formation  of  man  is  conceived  as  the  crowning  work  of  Divinity. 
In  Genesis,  the  narrative  continues  with  a  description  of  the  origi- 
nal abode  of  humanity,  prepared  by  the  Deity  himself ;  and  of  the 
intimate  personal  relations  existing  at  this  early  period  between  the 
Creator  and  his  rational  offspring.  If  this  portion  of  the  account  is 
to  be  taken  in  any  sense  as  literal,  according  to  the  usual  interpre- 
tation of  it  by  exegetes,  it  is  necessary  to  give  a  fixed  locality  on 
the  earth's  surface,  not  only  to  the  Garden  of  Eden  itself,  but  to 
the  personal  appearance  of  the  Divine  Being  in  his  intercourse  with 
the  first  human  pair.  No  direct  communications  could  be  imparted 
to  man  by  the  Deity  that  were  not  subject  strictly  to  the  limitations 
of  time  and  space.  Undoubtedly,  therefore,  a  very  great  signifi- 
cance attached  to  this  particular  region  during  the  life  of  Adam 
and  Eve,  and  through  all  subsequent  times  within  the  traditional 
memory  of  their  posterity.  Not  merely  the  life's  experience  and 
particular  historical  events  connected  with  this  primitive  abode, 
but  the  image  of  its  physical  characteristics  and  geographical  fea- 
tures would  mingle  with  the  saddened  recollections  of  the  past, 
and  be  engraved  upon  the  mind  of  succeeding  generations.  Nor 
is  it  to  be  supposed  that  our  first  parents  and  their  immediate  de- 
scendants confined  their  observation  and  study  to  the  configura- 
tion of  the  earth  upon  which  they  dwelt,  or  even  to  the  natural 
objects  with  which  they  were  surrounded.  The  sky,  the  heaven 
that  spread  its  curtain  over  their  heads,  decorated  with  brilliant 
stars,  and  especially  the  sun  and  moon,  —  these  objects  also  at- 
tracted their  gaze  and  study.  We  are  the  more  justified  in  such 
a  supposition,  since  the  narrative  of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis 


168 


HAR-MOAD. 


devotes  a  particular  account,  and  the  fourth  day  of  creation,  to  the 
arrangement  of  the  heavens. 

Thus,  a  fixed  locality  upon  the  earth's  surface,  and  a  well-defined 
circle  of  stellar  observation,  limited'  by  their  visual  range,  together 
with  all  the  more  prominent  objects  in  both  fields  of  view,  would  be 
brought  naturally  into  immediate  association,  and  be  indelibly  im- 
pressed upon  the  minds  of  the  first  men.  It  is  morally  certain  that 
these  various  surroundings  would  give  a  deep  coloring  to  the  entire 
development  of  this  primitive  race,  and,  aside  from  their  own  acts 
and  history,  constitute  the  chief  elements  of  those  traditionary  ideas 
transmitted  to  subsequent  ages.  It  is  equally  certain,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  those  traditionary  conceptions,  in  so  far  as  they  related 
to  terrestrial  objects,  would  pertain  to  a  particular  portion  of  the 
earth's  surface,  and  not  to  the  earth  in  general,  except  in  a  vague 
and  indefinite  manner ;  that,  also,  in  so  far  as  they  related  to  the 
stellar  world,  this  would  not  be  the  vast  expanse  of  the  sky  collec- 
tively taken,  but  a  well-defined  and  limited  region  of  the  heavens, 
characterized  by  special  features.  A  particular  earth  and  a  partic- 
ular heaven,  these  put  in  direct  and  so  to  speak  concrete  relation 
to  each  other,  would  constitute  exclusively  the  cosmos,  or  world,  in 
which  the  practical  development  of  primitive  humanity  had  taken 
place.  The  same  reasons  apply  in  respect  to  personal  intercourse 
between  God  and  man,  which  is  represented  as  existing  at  this 
period.  The  special  relation  to  man  here  supposed,  from  the  nature 
of  the  case,  must  give  to  the  Deity  an  individual  and  local  charac- 
ter, subject  to  the  limitations  of  time  and  space,  as  all  personal 
intercourse  between  rational  beings  on  earth  must  be ;  and  this, 
even  though  the  Divine  Being  was  conceived  abstractly  as  filling 
all  space.  In  different  terms,  the  Deity  must  be  conceived,  under 
such  circumstances,  literally  to  dwell  somewhere,  to  inhabit  some 
place,  the  same  as  man ;  and  this  notion  of  a  dwelling-place,  applied 
to  the  Divinity,  constituted,  in  the  minds  of  antiquity,  one  of  the 
essential  characteristics  of  the  temple.  Judging  from  the  nature  of 
the  cosmos  in  which  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  existence  of  the 
first  men  must  have  had  its  birth;  judging,  too,  from  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  temple  structures,  which  at  subsequent  epochs  were 
supposed  to  represent  heaven  and  earth ;  it  is  possible  to  form  some 
idea  as  to  the  character  of  the  originally  conceived  dwelling-place  of 
Divinity,  when  as  yet  no  artificial  structure?  of  this  kind  existed. 


MOSAIC   AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  169 

It  consisted,  in  fact,  of  that  particular  and  primitive  heaven  and 
earth  here  supposed ;  with  which,  therefore,  the  archetypal  temple 
was  identical.  In  a  word,  as  will  be  shown  hereafter,  the  heaven 
itself  was  esteemed  the  especial  abode  of  the  Divine  Existence  and 
the  celestial  paradise ;  while  the  earth  itself  was  the  abode  of  man, 
regarded  as  a  terrestrial  paradise ;  and  the  personal  intercourse  be- 
tween God  and  the  first  human  pair,  as  represented  in  Genesis, 
presupposes  an  open  communication  existing  from  one  dwelling 
place  to  the  other. 

SEC.  65.  The  remarks  that  have  been  submitted  thus  far,  being 
mostly  of  an  d  priori  nature,  will  be  thought  to  require  an  empirical 
basis,  in  order  to  give  them  in  any  sense  a  scientific  value.  This 
basis  is  to  be  sought  in  the  concurrent  traditions  of  the  old  world 
respecting  the  cradle  of  the  human  race,  in  so  far  as  they  are  to-day 
available  to  the  critic.  The  generalizing  principles  upon  which  it 
will  be  attempted  to  classify  these  data  may  be  expressed  in  the 
following  leading  propositions,  namely :  — 

1st.  There  existed  a  particular,  primitive,  and  traditionary  hea- 
ven and  earth,  these  being  put  in  direct  relation  to  each  other ;  one 
regarded  as  the  especial  abode  of  the  Divine  Powers,  the  other  as 
that  of  the  first  men. 

2d.  The  conceived  primary  divisions  of  each,  together  with  the 
central  points  of  their  supposed  generation,  coincided  exactly  in  one 
case  to  those  in  the  other. 

3d.  By  virtue  of  these  divisions,  and  upon  principles  heretofore 
established,  such  heaven  and  earth  constituted  at  once  the  original 
cosmos  and  the  archetypal  temple. 

The  first  and  most  vital  inquiry  for  us  now  is,  whether  the  origi- 
nal abode  of  man  on  earth  can  be,  with  some  degree  of  certainty, 
definitely  ascertained  ?  in  other  words,  whether  the  geographical 
scheme  of  Genesis,  pertaining  to  the  Garden  of  Eden,  admits  of 
being  precisely  located  ?  If  this  can  be  done,  the  elements  of  the 
foregoing  propositions  will  be  by  this  means  fully  supplied  ;  since 
the  particular  earth  being  ascertained,  its  co-related  stellar  region 
becomes  also  known.  The  evidences  tending  to  locate  the  terres- 
trial paradise  must  constitute  for  us,  then,  those  of  the  first  class ; 
though  no  more  conclusive,  as  we  shall  find,  toward  establishing 
our  general  theory  than  those  pertaining  to  the  traditional  celestial 
paradise.  It  will  be,  by  a  comparative  analysis  of  both  orders  of 


170 


HAR-MOAD. 


proofs,  that  they  will  be  fotmd  to  afford  mutual  supports  and  con- 
firmations of  the  hypothesis  with  which  we  are  to  be  occupied. 
First,  then,  as  respects  the  locality  of  the  Gran-Eden  of  Genesis. 

Before  the  opening  of  the  present  century,  the  investigations  of 
scholars  relative  to  this  subject  had  been  productive  of  no  results, 
except  to  render  it  hazardous  for  the  reputation  of  any  critic  to 
attempt  even  the  solution  of  such  a  problem.  The  first  series  of 
investigations,  so  far  as  my  personal  reading  extends,  that  gave 
promise  of  ultimate  success  in  this  direction  were  those  conducted 
by  Colonel  Wilford,  and  published  in  the  "  Asiatic  Researches,"  dat- 
ing from  about  the  year  1818.  Subsequently,  many  of  the  leading 
Orientalists  of  Europe  applied  their  learning  and  critical  ability  to 
the  solution  of  the  same  question,  till  now  a  well-defined  theory 
respecting  the  subject  is  unhesitatingly  adopted  by  a  large  class  of 
learned  critics.  Although  the  hypothesis  originally  put  forth  by 
Colonel  Wilford  has  not  been  supported  in  many  important  details 
by  subsequent  writers,  owing  to  the  unreliable  character  of  some 
sources  upon  which  he  was  at  that  early  period  obliged  to  depend, 
he  was  able  to  establish  certain  fundamental  data  that  have  served 
the  basis  of  more  recent  researches.  These  are  substantially  as 
follows :  — 

1st.  That  there  exists  a  remarkable  agreement  respecting  the 
first  abode  of  mankind  between  the  earliest  and  most  authentic 
traditions,  preserved  by  the  two  great  branches  of  the  Indo-Euro- 
pean race,  namely,  the  Aryans  of  India  and  those  of  ancient  Persia. 

2d.  That  a  like  substantial  agreement  may  be  traced  between 
the  Aryan  traditions  generally  and  those  of  the  Semitic  race ;  par- 
ticularly the  Hebrew  account  of  Genesis. 

3d.  That  the  common  point  of  departure  for  all  these  races  had 
been  outside  the  countries  occupied  by  them  subsequently,  and  since 
the  opening  of  the  historical  period. 

It  was  proved,  for  instance,  that  the  Sanskrit-speaking  popula- 
tions of  India  had  not  at  first  occupied  this  country,  but  had  mi- 
grated from  another  region,  entering  India  from  the  northwest. 
So,  too,  the  earliest  records  of  the  Zend  or  Persian  tribes,  although 
in  a  measure  indistinct,  rendered  it  evident  that  this  race  had  jour- 
neyed originally  from  a  country  much  farther  east  and  north.  The 
Book  of  Genesis  also  afforded  intimations  that  the  people  primi- 
tively settled  in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  had  arrived  upon  the 


MOSAIC   AND  BABYLONIAN   COSMOGONY.  171 

plains  of  Shinar  by  migrating  from  the  east.  The  question  was 
still  a  very  difficult  one,  but  it  had  been  simplified  and  reduced  to  a 
more  scientific  form.  Everything  seemed  to  conduct  to  the  region 
of  the  Hindu  Caucasus  as  that  where  the  earliest  traditions  of  the 
races  ought  to  converge.  The  essential  conditions  of  the  problem, 
as  admirably  stated  by  M.  Ernest  Renan  many  years  since,  were 
in  general  these : — 

1st.  To  find  a  region  whose  natural  characteristics  and  geo- 
graphical features  corresponded  to  the  uniform  traditions  respecting 
the  primitive  home  of  man. 

2d.  A  region  whose  situation  was  such,  with  reference  to  the 
peoples  preserving  those  traditions,  that  it  was  possible  for  each  and 
all  to  have  departed  from  it  toward  the  countries  subsequently  in- 
habited by  them. 

3d.  A  region  to  which,  by  the  aid  of  their  traditions  and  histori- 
cal records,  as  well  as  by  the  assistance  of  linguistic  science,  tracing 
the  origin  of  names  of  mountains,  rivers,  etc.,  it  was  possible  to 
retrace  the  steps  of  these  peoples  along  the  routes  originally  taken 
by  them  in  their  migrations  from  this  central  point  of  divergence. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  where  these  essential  conditions  of 
the  problem  before  us  have  been  clearly  apprehended  and  strictly 
adhered  to  by  scholars  in  their  investigations,  there  has  been  sub- 
stantial uniformity  and  agreement  in  the  results  obtained  by  them. 
Guided  by  these  principles,  the  researches  of  such  able  critics  as 
Ewald,  Lassen,  Burnouf,  Obry,  Renan,  Lenormant,  and  others  have 
all  tended  to  one  conclusion,  namely,  that  the  original  abode  of 
these  various  races,  the  cradle  of  humanity,  in  fact,  was  the  great 
plateau  of  Pamir,  situated  on  the  high  table-lands  of  Central  Asia, 
near  the  point  where  the  mountains  of  the  Belurtag  unite  them- 
selves to  the  Himalayas.  If  some  eminent  scholars  have  come  to 
conclusions  different  from  these,  it  has  been  generally  due  to  the 
fact,  either  that  their  criticisms  were  purely  of  a  negative  character, 
tending  to  no  fixed  result,  or  that  they  have  neglected  the  funda- 
mental conditions  of  this  problem,  assuming  points  of  departure 
from  which  it  was  certain  that  some  of  the  races  never  did  depart. 
There  is  not  the  slightest  evidence,  for  instance,  that  the  Aryans  of 
India  ever  migrated  from  Ararat  in  Armenia,  from  the  "  highlands 
of  Elam,"  or  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates.  But  there  is  much  proof 
tending  to  show,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  Aryans  entered  India 


172 


HAR-MOAD. 


from  the  northwest ;  that  thfe  Medo-Persians  migrated  from  beyond 
the  Caspian ;  and  that  the  Semitic  tribes,  or  at  least  the  first  civil- 
izers  of  Babylon,  came  from  the  east.  It  is  unnecessary,  however, 
to  dwell  at  greater  length  upon  the  conditions  of  this  problem. 

SEC.  66.  It  would  lead  us  far  astray  from  the  main  object  in 
view  to  enter  here  upon  labored  investigations  touching  the  details 
of  this  particular  topic,  based  upon  the  original  sources.  Indeed, 
this  work  has  been  already  and  repeatedly  gone  over  by  some  of 
the  ablest  critics  of  the  present  day.  The  principal  facts  pertain- 
ing to  the  question  are  well  established,  and  the  necessary  conditions 
to  be  observed  in  relation  to  it  have  been  explained.  I  merely  serve 
myself,  therefore,  with  some  extracts  from  authors  who  have  most 
thoroughly  explored  the  entire  field,  and  have  reported  the  conclu- 
sion  at  which  they  have  arrived.  I  commence  with  M.  E.  Renan 
as  follows :  — 

"  Thus,  everything  invites  us  to  place  the  Eden  of  the  Semites 
in  the  mountains  of  Belurtag,  at  the  point  where  this  chain  unites 
with  the  Himalayas,  toward  the  plateau  of  Pamir.  .  .  .  We  are  con- 
ducted to  the  same  point,  according  to  E.  Burnouf,  by  the  most 
ancient  and  authentic  texts  of  the  Zend-Avesta.  The  Hindu  tradi- 
tions, also,  contained  in  the  Mahabharata  and  the  Puranas,  converge 
to  the  same  region.  There  is  the  true  Meru,  the  true  Albordj,  the 
true  river  Avanda,  from  whence  all  rivers  take  their  source,  accord- 
ing to  the  Persian  tradition.  There  is,  according  to  the  opinions  of 
almost  all  the  populations  of  Asia,  the  central  point  of  the  world, 
the  umbilic,  the  gate  of  the  universe.  There  is  the  Uttara-kuru, 
4  the  country  of  happiness,'  of  which  Megasthenes  writes.  There 
is,  finally,  the  point  of  common  attachment  of  the  primitive  geogra- 
phy, both  of  the  Semitic  and  Indo-European  races.  This  coinci- 
dence is  one  of  the  most  striking  results  to  which  modern  criticism 
has  conducted  ;  and  it  is  remarkable  that  it  has  been  reached  from 
two  opposite  directions  at  one  and  the  same  time,  namely,  through 
Aryan  studies  on  one  hand,  and  Semitic  studies  on  the  other."  l 

Prior  to  the  investigations  of  M.  Renan,  in  the  article  referred  to 
here,  M.  Obry  had  published  an  extended  review  of  two  hundred 
pages,  devoted  exclusively  to  the  same  problem.  The  subjoined 
extract  exhibits  the  conclusions  in  part,  as  stated  summarily  at  the 
close  of  his  work,  to  which  this  writer  had  been  conducted :  — 

1  Histoire  generate  des  Langues  Semitiques,  etc.,  pp.  480,  481.  Cf.,  by  the  same 
author,  De  V  Origins  du  Langage,  pp.  228-230.  Both  treatises  contain  excellent 
criticisms  upon  the  topic  in  question. 


MOSAIC   AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  173 

"  I  believe  to  have  sufficiently  established  in  the  course  of  this 
essay :  1st.  That  the  Semitic  traditions,  or  better,  the  Semitico- 
Hamite,  are  in  accord  with  the  Aryan  traditions,  in  placing  the 
cradle  of  the  human  race  to  the  north  of  India  ;  that  is  to  say,  in  a 
country  east  in  relation  to  the  Semites,  etc.  2d.  That  this  region 
was  from  the  first  conceived  as  identical  with  that  upon  the  moun- 
tains of  which  the  ark  of  Noah  rested  after  the  deluge,  as  well  as 
that  of  Xisuthrus  and  of  Manu-Vaivasvata.  3d.  That  as  Genesis 
affirms  that  the  descendants  of  Japhet,  Shem,  and  Ham  emigrated 
from  the  east  to  Babylon,  it  is  necessary  to  follow  inversely  this 
route,  in  order  to  find  the  first  abode  of  man  ;  that  is,  to  pass  from 
the  Semitic  Ararat  to  that  which  I  call  the  Aryan  Aryaratha, 
named  Meru  by  the  Hindus,  Albordj  by  the  Persians,  and  E'den  by 
the  Hebrews.  4th.  That  originally  Eden,  Albordj,  and  Meru  were 
all  conceived  as  one  and  the  same  plateau  of  a  square  figure,  having 
its  four  sides  turned  toward  the  four  cardinal  points  ;  and  of  such 
immense  elevation  that  it  seemed  to  confound  itself  with  the  hea- 
vens, the  abode  of  the  Superior  Powers.  5th.  That  this  high 
region,  suspended,  so  to  speak,  between  heaven  and  earth,  and  con- 
ceived as  the  cradle  of  the  human  race,  passed  for  being  watered  by 
a  *  single  river,  but  which  divided  itself  from  thence  into  four 
branches,  flowing  toward  the  four  great  countries  surrounding  it, 
also  facing  the  four  cardinal  regions.  6th.  That  the  orientation  of 
the  four  rivers  (that  is,  their  direction  toward  the  cardinal  points), 
and  their  issue  from  a  common  source,  constituted  in  some  sense 
two  fundamental  conditions  of  the  primitive  abode  of  humanity."1 

A  remark  or  two  here  relative  to  the  two  fundamental  conditions 
alluded  to  by  M.  Obry  in  the  last  sentence  quoted.  Universal  tradi- 
tion does  assume  four  rivers,  the  same  as  described  in  Genesis;  it 
assumes  their  issue,  also,  from  a  common  source,  or  at  least  a  com- 
mon region  of  country  from  which  all  take  their  rise.  In  a  certain 
sense,  finally,  tradition  assumes  the  orientation  of  these  rivers.  In 
this  respect,  however,  there  was  a  variation  between  the  cardinal 
and  the  intermediate  points  of  the  compass.  The  Buddhists,  as 
cited  by  M.  Obry  himself,  located  these  rivers  in  the  direction  of 
the  intermediate  regions  ;  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  such 
notions  prevailed  at  Babylon.  In  all  cases,  nevertheless,  the  idea 
of  a  certain  orientation  was  fundamental,  as  this  author  insists. 
These  were  the  essential  characteristics  of  the  country  which,  ac- 
cording to  tradition,  had  constituted  the  first  abode  of  humanity. 
A  region  without  four  rivers,  these  diverging  from  a  common  centre, 

1  Du  Berceau,  etc.,  pp.  187,  188. 


174 


HAR-MOAD. 


and  flowing  in  opposite  directions  toward  four  quarters  of  the  glob£, 
could  not  be  identified  with  the  geography  of  the  Eden  of  Genesis. 
Here  we  have  an  essential  condition  of  the  problem  before  us  that 
must  not  be  neglected.  It  is  remarkable  that  there  exists  but  one 
such  region  on  the  earth,  and  it  is  that  to  which  M.  E.  Renan  and 
Obry  allude  in  the  extracts  cited.  It  will  be  noticed  that  M.  Obry 
confirms  the  authorities  cited  in  the  last  chapter,  relative  to  the 
special  configuration  of  the  traditional  Eden.  It  was  of  a  square 
fiyure,  its  sides  oriented,  and  surrounded  by  four  great  countries 
also  oriented.  Uniform  tradition  agreed  likewise  in  this  particular. 
SEC.  67.  The  most  elaborate  and  recent  discussion  of  the  sub- 
ject before  us,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  is  that  of  M.  F.  Lenormant  in 
his  excellent  commentary  upon  the  "  Fragments  of  Berosus,"  already 
frequently  cited  in  these  pages.  As  his  opinions  agree  so  nearly 
with  those  of  the  authors  just  quoted,  it  is  unnecessary  to  reproduce 
them  here  in  detail.  He -proves  the  substantial  agreement  of  the 
Hindu  and  Persian  traditions  respecting  the  locality  of  the  sacred 
mount,  the  Eden  of  Genesis,  and  then  shows  that  the  Mosaic  ac- 
count points  definitely  to  the  same  region.  He  observes :  — 

44  That  the  Biblical  description  of  Eden  relates  to  the  same  coun- 
try as  the  other  (the  Aryan)  traditions  passed  in  review  by  us  is  a 
point  upon  which  all  scholars  are  to-day  agreed,  and  it  is  established 
by  abundant  proofs."  l 

But  the  most  recent  statement  of  the  hypothesis,  supported  by 
the  evidences  adduced  by  the  authors  already  referred  to,  is  that  by 
the  distinguished  Orientalist,  M.  G.  Maspero.  He  does  not  appear 
to  have  gone  over  the  entire  ground  anew,  upon  the  basis  of  the 
original  sources,  but  the  various  points  referred  to  by  him  have 
been  well  established  by  other  scholars,  and  his  summary  of  the 
conclusions  is  an  excellent  one,  which  is  here  reproduced.  Alluding 
to  the  ancient  races,  he  remarks :  — 

44  All  have  preserved,  mixed  with  the  vague  legends  of  their 
infancy,  the  tradition  of  a  primitive  country,  which  had  been  in- 
habited by  their  ancestors  before  their  dispersion.  It  was  a  high 
mountain,  or  better,  an  immense  plain,  of  a  square  figure,  so  ele- 
vated that  it  seemed  to  be  suspended,  so  to  speak,  between  heaven 

1  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  308.  Cf.  pp.  299-314,  for  a  discussion  of  all  the  points, 
which  is  very  able  and  critical.  The  author  adheres  strictly  to  the  conditions  of 
the  problem,  and  but  one  result  was  possible. 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIA^  COSMOGONY.  175 

and  earth.  From  the  interior  rose  a  great  river,  which  was  divided 
from  thence  into  four  arms  or  branches,  which  flowed  toward  the 
four  surrounding  regions.  There  was  the  navel  of  the  world,  the 
cradle  of  the  human  race.  The  peoples  situated  between  the  Medi- 
terranean and  Tigris  located  this  legendary  country  in  the  east ; 
while  the  populations  of  Iran  (ancient  Persia)  and  India  conceived 
it  to  be  situated  in  the  north.  The  moderns  have  succeeded  in 
determining  its  site  more  definitely  than  the  ancients  were  able  to 
do.  They  have  placed  it  in  the  mountains  of  the  Belurtag,  near 
the  place  where  this  chain  unites  with  the  Himalayas,  upon  the 
plateau  of  Pamir.  There  in  effect,  and  there  alone,  we  find  a 
country  which  satisfies  all  the  descriptions,  geographically  speaking, 
preserved  in  the  sacred  books  of  Asia.  From  the  plateau  of  Pamir, 
or  better,  the  mountain  mass  of  which  this  region  is  the  central 
plain,  four  great  rivers  take  their  rise,  the  Indus,  the  Helmend,  the 
Oxus,  and  the  Jaxartes,  which  flow  in  directions  the  most  diverse, 
well  answering  in  this  respect  to  the  four  rivers  of  sacred  tradi- 
tion."1 

For  the  most  part,  the  investigations  of  learned  critics  relative 
to  the  situation  of  the  Q-an-Eden  of  Genesis  have  been  based  upon 
the  Semitic  and  Aryan  traditions,  with  very  little  reference  to  those 
preserved  by  the  so-called  Turanian  races.  The  reason  has  been 
that  the  Turanians,  if  we  except  the  Chinese  and  those  assumed  to 
have  founded  the  Babylonian  civilization,  have  preserved  no  such 
distinct  recollections  pertaining  to  the  original  home  of  man,  not 
having  possessed  from  early  times  a  written  literature.  Nor  has 
the  literature  of  the  Chinese  and  that  of  the  Babylonians  been  so 
thoroughly  investigated  by  scholars  generally.  Nevertheless,  cer- 
tain facts  are  now  known,  some  of  which  have  been  already  pre- 
sented to  the  reader,  which  go  to  confirm  our  hypothesis  respecting 
the  actual  position  of  the  sacred  mount,  traditionary  abode  of  the 
first  men.  Since  China  is  situated  to  the  southeast  in  relation  to 
the  plateau  of  Pamir,  we  ought  to  be  able,  according  to  the  condi- 
tions of  our  problem,  to  trace  the  origin  of  the  Chinese  in  the  north- 
west in  relation  to  the  region  occupied  by  them  in  historical  times. 
On  this  point  Professor  W.  D.  Whitney  observes :  "  The  origin  of  the 
Chinese  people  is  to  be  sought  —  if  it  be  possible  ever  to  trace  back 
their  movements  beyond  the  limits  of  their  own  territory — in  the 
northwest."2  This  statement  is  abundantly  supported  by  the  facts 

1  Histoire  Ancienne,  etc.,  p.  132. 

2  Oriental  and  Linguistic  Studies,  2d  series,  p.  63. 


176 


JHAR-MOAD. 


developed  in  Dr.  Schlegel's  recent  and  voluminous  work  upon 
Chinese  astronomy.1  It  is  necessary  to  recall  here  the  cosmical 
legend  of  the  tortoise,  as  presented  in  the  last  chapter.  The  matter 
of  the  five  summits,  of  the  eight  regions,  and  the  constellation  of 
the  "Northern  Measure,"  that  is,  the  seven  stars  of  the  great 
Dipper,  all  tend  to  connect  the  primitive  Chinese  tradition  with 
the  Meru  of  the  Hindus,  the  Albordj  of  the  Persians,  the  Eden  of 
Genesis.  With  reference,  now,  to  the  Babylonians,  the  frequent 
allusion  in  the  cuneiform  texts  to  the  u  Bit-kharris  of  the  east,  the 
father  of  countries,"  as  already  mentioned,  affords  sufficient  indica- 
tions of  the  existence  of  traditions  similar  to  those  recorded  in  the 
first  chapters  of  Genesis.  But  I  consider  the  attempt  of  some  Eng- 
lish Assyriologues  to  locate  the  origin  of  these  traditions,  and  thence 
the  Mosaic  geography  of  Eden,  in  the  "  highlands  of  Elam,"  or  in 
the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  itself,  as  based  wholly  upon  erroneous 
ideas.  It  is  quite  probable  that  certain  names  of  rivers  and  moun- 
tains had  been  transported  from  the  east,  and  applied  to  correspond- 
ing objects  in  a  country  farther  west.  But  the  conditions  of  our 
problem  absolutely  forbid  the  assumption  of  either  Elam  or  Chal- 
dsea  as  the  cradle  of  humanity.  One  of  these  conditions  regards 
the  peculiar  geographical  features,  in  themselves  of  an  extraordinary 
character.  Another  is  constituted  of  the  concurrent  traditions 
pointing  to  a  fixed  locality,  preserved  by  peoples  widely  separated 
in  historical  times.  Finally,  we  have  to  trace  these  populations, 
with  the  aid  of  their  traditions,  and  by  other  helps,  back  to  the 
original  point  of  common  divergence,  and  by  some  route  physically 
possible.  Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  facts  pertaining  to  our 
subject  will  recognize  at  once  the  impossibility  of  assuming  any 
other  terrestrial  region  as  the  birthplace  of  humanity  than  Central 
and  Northern  Asia,  if  all  these  conditions  are  to  be  observed.  But 
it  is  a  most  remarkable  circumstance  that  the  plateau  of  Pamir 
literally  fulfills  all  of  them. 

SEC.  68.  But  there  is  another  condition  of  the  problem  before 
us,  upon  which  critics  have  never  insisted,  so  far  as  I  know,  but  it 

1  UranograpMe  Chinois,  pp.  729-736.  The  extravagant  theory  of  the  author 
as  to  the  antiquity  of  the  'Chinese  nation  \\r.\y  well  be  doubted.  But  it  results 
from  his  investigations  that  the  origin  of  this  people  is  to  be  traced  to  the  ele- 
vated plains  of  Central  Asia,  to  the  same  region,  in  fact,  already  assumed  as  the 
primitive  home  of  man. 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  177 

seems  to  me  very  essential,  and  not  to  be  neglected.  I  allude  to  the 
astronomical  element  involved  in  nearly  all  the  ancient  traditions 
relating  to  the  sacred  mount  of  paradise.  With  the  particular 
earth  inhabited  by  the  first  men,  whose  geographical  features  were 
so  extraordinary,  were  directly  connected  certain  stellar  objects  of 
a  character  not  less  notable,  which  constituted  the  particular  heaven 
of  primeval  tradition,  thus  completing  the  notion  of  a  well-defined 
celestial  space  united  with  a  corresponding  terrestrial  space,  pre- 
viously shown  to  have  characterized  the  old  augurial  temple  of  the 
Etrusco-Romans.  We  enter  now  upon  the  consideration  of  the 
astronomical  element  referred  to,  deriving  our  first  notice  from 
the  passage  in  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah,  which  reads  as  follows:  — 

"  For  thou  hast  said  in  thine  heart,  I  will  ascend  into  heaven,  I  will  exalt  my 
throne  above  the  stars  of  God  :  I  will  sit  also  upon  the  mount  of  the  congrega- 
tion, in  the  sides  of  the  north  :  I  will  ascend  above  the  heights  of  the  clouds  ;  I 
will  be  like  the  Most  High  "  (xiv.  13,  14). 

This  remarkable  text  has  become  quite  celebrated  among  Orien- 
talists, as  will  be  seen  from  the  frequent  allusions  to  it  to  be  cited 
hereafter.  The  Hebrew  name  of  Divinity  employed  in  the  ex- 
pression "  the  stars  of  God  "  is  El  (b^),  while  that  occurring  in  the 
phrase  "  Most  High  "  is  Ely  on  (]V>b$),  both  being  titles  of  the  Deity 
common  to  all  the  Semitic  nations,  and  thus,  as  Professor  Max 
Miiller  has  fully  shown,  to  be  referred  to  the  period  before  the 
Semitic  race  had  separated  into  distinct  branches.  The  Har-Moad, 
or  "  mount  of  the  congregation,  in  the  sides  of  the  north,"  better 
rendered,  perhaps,  as  "  mountain  of  the  assembly  in  the  extreme 
north,"  was  undoubtedly,  as  long  since  suggested  by  Dr.  Gesenius, 
the  great  Asiatic  Olympus,  the  supposed  residence  of  the  gods.  In 
the  phrase  "stars  of  God,"  that  is,  the.  stars  of  El,  there  is  an  allu- 
sion to  a  particular  and  remarkable  asterism  in  the  northern  hea- 
vens, the  identification  of  which  is  no  longer  a  matter  of  doubt 
among  leading  Orientalists.  I  refer  to  the  seven  stars  of  the 
41  Chariot,"  or  "great  Dipper,"  in  the  constellation  of  the  Great 
Bear,  whose  slow,  rolling  motion  about  the  north  polar  star  has  been 
remarked  by  the  men  of  all  ages.  Its  uniform  and  direct  associa- 
tion with  the  traditional  mount  of  paradise  is  the  point  to  be  estab- 
lished. Dr.  Gesenius  observes  :  — 

"  The  place  mentioned  in  the  words  of  the  king  of  Babylon 
(Is.  xiv.  13),  the  mountain  of  assembly  (of  the  gods),  is  probably 
the  Persian  mountain  El-Burj,  El-Burz,  called  by  the  Hindoos 


178 


HAR-MOAD. 


Meru,  supposed  to  "be  situated  in  the  extreme  north,  and,  like  the 
Greek  Olympus,  regarded  by  the  Orientals  as  the  seat  of  the 
gods."  1 

The  stars  of  El,  then,  were  associated  with  Mt.  Meru,  the 
Albordj  of  the  Persians,  the  Eden  of  Genesis.  Relative  to  this 
point,  and  in  allusion  to  Mt.  Meru,  Colonel  Wilford  remarks:  —  - 

"As  it  is  written  in  the  Puranas,  that  on  Mount  Meru  there  is 
an  eternal  day  for  the  space  of  fourteen  degrees  round  Su-Meru 
(the  celestial  pole),  and  of  course  an  eternal  night  for  the  same 
space  on  the  opposite  side  (or  south  pole)  ;  the  Hindus  have  been 
forced  to  suppose  that  Su-Meru  is  exactly  at  the  apex,  or  summit  of 
the  shadow  of  the  earth  ;  and  that  from  the  earth  to  this  summit, 
there  is  an  immense  conical  hill,  solid  like  the  rest  of  the  globe,  but 
invisible,  impalpable,  and  pervious  to  mankind  ;  on  the  sides  of 
this  mountain  are  various  mansions,  rising  in  eminence  and  preex- 
cellence,  as  you  ascend,  and  destined  for  the  place  of  residence  of 
the  blessed  according  to  their  merits.  God  and  the  principal  deities 
are  supposed  to  be  seated,  in  the  sides  of  the  north,  on  the  summit 
of  this  mountain,  which  is  called  also  Sabha,  or  of  the  congregation. 
This  opinion  is  of  the  greatest  antiquity,  as  it  is  alluded  to  by 
Isaiah,  almost  in  the  words  of  the  Pauramics.  This  prophet,  de- 
scribing the  fall  of  the  chief  of  the  Daityas  (the  Babylonian  king?), 
introduces  him,  saying,  'That  he  would  exalt  his  throne  above  the 
stars  of  God,.  and  would  sit  on  the  mount  of  the  congregation  in  the 
sides  of  the  north.''  "  2 

The  idea  that  an  eternal  day  exists  for  "  fourteen  degrees  round 
Su-Meru"  or  the  north  polar  star,  probably  arose  from  the  fact 
that  the  asterisms  situated  near  this  point  never  set,  never  leave 
the  visible  heavens,  as  do  those  constellations  more  distant  from  the 
pole.  It  will  be  seen  that  Mt.  Meru  was  conceived  as  an  immense 
conical  hill,  whose  summit  penetrated  the  heavens  in  the  region  of 
the  celestial  pole  or  Su-Meru;  and  thus,  that  the  mountain  itself 
literally  united  the  heavens  and  earth  like  a  vast  column.  Colonel 
Wilford  also  identifies  the  Har-Moadvi  Isaiah  with  Mt.  Meru.  But 
I  wish  to  submit  a  passage  here  from  the  pen  of  Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce, 
as  follows  :  — 

"  The  innumerable  gods  and  goddesses,  demigods  and  heroes, 
of  the  Accadians  were  adopted  by  the  Assyrians  in  their  popular 


1  Robinson's  Gesenius'  Heb.  Lex.,  Art. 
loc.  ;  and  Beylage  I.,  especially,  p.  326,  h.  ii. 

2  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  vi.  pp.  488,  489. 


.  Gesenius'  Jesaia,  notes  in 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  179 

mythology,  in  the  larger  proportion  of  cases,  without  any  change  of 
name.  Even  temples  of  Kharsak-kurra,  or  4  highland  of  the  east,' 
4  the  mountain  of  the  world,'  and  cradle  of  the  Accadian  race  and 
ritual,  are  founded  by  Assyrian  monarchs.  Nay,  we  find  the  same 
starting  point  of  Turanian  civilization  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment ;  Isaiah  (xiv.  13)  sets  the  king  of  Babylon  on  fc  the  mountain 
of  the  gods '  or  4  world,'  which  the  Jew,  who  had  identified  Accad 
or  Urdhu,  '  the  highlands,'  with  Ararat  (  Urardhu)  of  the  same  sig- 
nification, places  in  the  north.  Both  Accad  and  Armenia  are  called 
in  the  inscriptions  Burbur  or  4  summits.'  "  l 

SEC.  69.  I  am  not  sure  that  Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce  would  identify  this 
"mountain  of  the  world,"  the  Har-Moad  of  Isaiah,  with  the  "high- 
lands of  Elam,"  or  of  modern  Susiana ;  but  this  seems  to  me  impos- 
sible. 1st.  The  stars  of  El  are  directly  associated  by  Isaiah  with 
the  "mount  of  the  congregation,  in  the  sides  of  the  north."  This 
sacred  mountain  is  in  the  extreme  north,  not  in  the  east  simply, 
which,  in  reference  to  Akkad,  was  the  exact  direction  of  Elam. 
Besides  this,  no  tradition  connects  with  the  "  highlands  of  Elam  " 
any  such  asterism  as  the  stars  of  El,  or  such  as  universal  tradition 
associated  with  the  true  Asiatic  Olyrnpus.  2d.  The  allusion  of 
Isaiah,  according  to  the  general  opinion  of  the  best  exegetes,  was 
definitely  to  Mt.  Meru,  the  Persian  Albordj.  But  more  especially, 
now,  with  reference  to  the  seven  stars  of  the  chariot  in  connection 
with  the  diluvian  mountain  which  uniform  tradition  regarded  as 
one  and  the  same  with  the  mount  of  paradise.  M.  Obry,  in  allu- 
sion to  the  identity  of  the  two  mountains,  remarks  as  follows :  — 

"  But  in  taking  this  for  our  base,  we  are  able  to  demand  to-day, 
whether  the  Ararat  of  Genesis  was  the  same  as  the  Ararat  of  sub- 
sequent Biblical  writings?  Or,  in  other  terms,  whether  this  name, 
of  doubtful  origin,  is  not  a  corruption  of  an  Aryan  term,  either 
Zend  or  Sanskrit,  namely,  Aryaratha,  '  chariot  of  the  Aryas;'  a 
vague  designation  of  a  mountain  of  the  north,  situated  outside 
Armenia,  and,  for  instance,  to  the  north  of  Media,  Persia,  or  even 
Bactria,  as  was  conjectured  in  the  last  century  by  the  learned  Abbe* 
Mill  at?  —  this  mountain  being  thus  named,  for  the  reason  that 
around  its  summit  was  thought  to  turn  the  chariot  of  the  seven 
Maharchis  of  the  Brahmans,  the  seven  Amschaspands  of  the  Per- 
sians, or  the  seven  Kokabim  of  the  Chaldaeans  ;  that  is  to  say,  the 
chariot  of  the  seven  stars  of  the  Great  Bear."  "  That  the  Chaldse- 
ans  had  inherited  these  mythical  ideas  is  proved  by  the  complaint 
of  Isaiah  upon  the  fall  of  the  ungodly  monarch  of  Babylon :  l  this 
1  Trans.  Bib.  Arch.  Society,  vol.  i.  p.  299. 


180 


IIAR-MOAD. 


star  of  morning,  son  of  Aurora,  this  oppressor  of  nations,  who 
boasted  not  to  descend  like  other  kings  into  the  depths  of  Sheol,  but 
to  ascend  above  the  stars  of  the  mighty  God,  and  to  take  his  place 
by  the  side  of  the  Most  High,  upon  the  mountain  of  the  assembly  ' 
(Hebrew  Har-Moad)  ;  that  is,  assembly  of  the  cheba-kokabim,  or 
seven  stars  of  the  Great  Bear,  on  the  sides  of  the  north."  l 

These  views  respecting  the  transfer  of  the  name  Aryaratha, 
"chariot  of  the  Aryas,"  from  Meru  of  the  Hindus  to  Ararat  in 
Armenia,  and  the  identification  of  the  same  stellar  group  to  which 
the  name  alludes,  with  the  stars  of  El,  are  fully  adopted  by  M. 
Lenorrnant  in  the  subjoined  extract :  — 

"  M.  Obry  has  shown  that  the  mountain  regarded  by  the  Aryans 
as  the  original  and  sacred  abode  of  humanity  had  at  first  received 
in  their  traditions  the  name  of  Aryaratha,  4  chariot  of  the  Aryas  ; ' 
for  the  reason  that  around  its  summit  was  thought  to  turn  the 
chariot  of  the  seven  Bramanic  Maharchis,  of  the  seven  Persian 
Amschaspands,  and  of  the  seven  Chaldaean  Kokabim ;  that  is  to 
say,  the  chariot  of  the  seven  stars  of  the  Great  Bear.  This  title 
Aryaratha  is  the  original  of  that  of  Ararat ;  and  it  was  only  at  a 
later  period  that  the  Aryan  tribes,  emigrating  into  Armenia,  trans- 
ferred it  to  a  mountain  in  that  country,  otherwise  called  Mt.  Masis." 
"  The  pyramidal  temple  of  the  Chaldaeans  was  an  imitation,  an 
artificial  reproduction  of  the  mythic  '  mountain  of  the  assembly  of 
the  stars,'  the  Har-Moad  of  Isaiah,  which  sacred  tradition  placed  in 
the  north."  2 

The  author  refers,  in  the  two  passages  above  cited,  to  one  and 
the  same  mountain,  the  Meru  of  the  Hindus.  Thus,  "  the  chariot 
of  the  Aryas,"  rolling  upon  the  summit  of  Meru,  designates  the 
same  stellar  group  as  that  which  Isaiah  refers  to  as  the  stars  of  El ; 
both  associated  with  the  traditional  mount  of  paradise.  But  con- 
nected with  this  circle  of  ideas  is  another  fact  of  considerable  im- 
portance, and  one  derived  from  a  well-known  cuneiform  passage. 
Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce  has  referred  to  the  temples  of  Kharsak-kurra,  a 
phrase  otherwise  read  Bit-kharris,  and  interpreted  by  this  writer  as 
"  mountain  of  the  world."  These  were  the  pyramidal  temples  in 
imitation  of  the  traditional  mount  of  paradise,  to  which  M.  Lenor- 
mant  alludes.  Connected  with  the  structures  called  Bit-kharris,  or 
Kharsak-kurra,  was  another  class  termed  Arali  ;  and  a  certain  text 
makes  special  mention  of  both  as  the  abode  of  the  great  divinities  ; 

1  Du  Berceau,  etc.,  pp.  5-7. 

2  Frag,  de  Berose,  pp.  302,  358  ;  cf.  pp.  317,  318. 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  181 

referring,  however,  not  to  the  artificial  reproductions,  but  to  that 
particular  celestial  region  of  which  these  were  imitations.  I  quote 
the  rendering  of  the  text  by  M.  Lenorrnant,  with  his  comments 
attached :  — 

"  l  Nisruk,  Sin,  Shamas,  Nabu,  Bin,  et  Adar,  and  their  great 
spouses,  who  reign  eternally  in  the  interior  of  the  great  Bit-Harris 
of  the  east,  and  of  the  country  of  Aralli.9  This  is,  as  we  find,  a 
luminous  and  celestial  region  like  the  east,  which  serves  as  the  resi- 
dence of  the  great  divinities,  and  of  which  the  temples  Arali  are 
the  image.  Such  a  conception  accords  perfectly  with  that  of  the 
Qaq-qa-du  or  Bit-Sadu  ;  that  is  to  say,  with  the  culminating  portion 
of  the  superior  hemisphere  of  heaven.  As  to  Bit-Harris,  '  the 
house  well  built,'  which  the  passage  cited  represents  as  the  palace 
of  the  gods,  it  is  situated  at  the  same  time  in  the  Kurra  and  in  the 
Arali ;  that  is  to  say,  in  the  east,  and  in  the  direction  of  the  point 
which  serves  as  the  pivot  of  rotation  of  the  superior  heavens  ;  and 
we  believe  that  it  is  necessary  to  place  at  the  summit  of  the  para- 
disiacal mountain  of  the  northeast,  which  unites  the  heavens  and 
earth  like  a  vast  column,  the  Har-Moad  of  Isaiah,  of  which  we  have 
studied  already  the  conception."  * 

SEC.  70.  The  concurrent  opinions  of  so  many  learned  critics 
upon  the  various  points  now  before  us  is  a  fact  quite  unusual ;  and 
it  goes  to  establish  the  following  conclusions :  — 

1st.  That  the  "mountain  of  the  assembly,"  to  which  the  prophet 
Isaiah  alludes,  is  none  other  than  the  traditional  mount  of  paradise ; 
the  Eden  of  Genesis,  Meru  of  the  Hindus,  or  Albordj  of  the  Per- 
sians. 

2d.  That  according  to  the  most  ancient  traditions  pertaining  to 
this  sacred  mount,  there  had  been  uniformly  associated  with  it  a 
particular  and  notable  asterism,  namely,  the  chariot  of  the  seven 
stars  of  the  Great  Bear,  with  which  the  north  polar  star  itself  was 
put  also  in  direct  relation. 

3d.  That  consequently,  from  the  singular  allusion  of  the  prophet 
to  the  *'  stars  of  El"  in  relation  to  which  Elyon  is  considered  above 
and  "  Highest,"  these  two  Hebrew  names  of  the  Deity  must  have 
been  in  some  way  connected  with  the  same  group  of  stellar  ob- 
jects, and  this  from  the  earliest  periods  to  which  the  development 
of  Semitism  is  to  be  referred. 

It  is  probable  that  the  statement  last  submitted  will  be  received 

1  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  393. 


182 


HAR-MOAD. 


with  some  surprise  on  the  part  of  Biblical  critics,  and  not  less  with 
hesitancy.  But  even  the  etymology  of  the  term  El,  as  generally 
sanctioned  by  Hebrew  scholars,  affords  a  striking  confirmation  of 
the  thesis  above  stated.  It  seems  to  be  well  understood  that  this 
mime  El  (bs),  "  the  Strong  One,"  is  derived  from  ool  (b-iss)  ;  and 
that  the  notion  of  rolling,  turning,  is  fundamental  in  both  expres- 
sions. Hence,  the  meaning  of  "  Strong  One,  or  Mighty  One,"  has 
proceeded  in  some  way  from  that  of  "  to  roll,  to  turn."  Dr.  J. 
Fiirst  explains  this  upon  the  principle  that  "the  idea  of  rolling 
gradually  merges  into  that  of  strength"  (art.  b^s)-  But  it  is 
hardly  possible  that  the  simple  conception  of  "  rolling,"  without  the 
aid  of  any  special  circumstances,  ever  suggested  the  idea  of  infinite 
force,  leading  to  the  selection  of  this  term  as  a  synonym  for  the 
Almighty.  If,  however,  we  connect  with  this  notion  the  remark- 
able allusion  of  Isaiah  to  the  "  stars  of  El,"  to  the  chariot  of  seven 
stars  rolling  .around  the  celestial  pole,  the  double  conception  of 
turning  and  of  strength  will  at  once  strike  the  mind.  As  M. 
Dupuis  remarked  long  ago,  but  without  any  reference  to  this  He- 
brew divine  name,  the  revolution  of  the  immense  mass  of  starry 
heavens  upon  a  single,  fixed  point  in  the  northern  hemisphere 
would  naturally  attract  the  attention  of  the  first  men  ;  and  they 
would  instinctively  concentrate  around  that  point  the  vast  assem- 
blage of  force  sustaining  this  mass  and  causing  it  to  revolve. 
Thus,  El  v/as  the  "Strong  One,"  who  upheld  the  vast  fabric  of  the 
world  and  caused  it  to  turn  on  its  eternal  pivots.  The  fact  that  this 
title  of  divinity  occurs  in  the  composition  of  names  in  both  lines  of 
genealogy  from  Adam  before  the  deluge,  and  that  neither  line, 
owing  to  an  original  feud  between  them,  would  be  likely  to  adopt  a 
divine  name  from  the  other,  tends  to  show  that  the  term  El,  as 
applied  to  the  divinity,  was  traditionally  connected  with  Gan-Eden 
itself,  or  with  that  sacred  summit  around  which  turned  the  fiery 
wheels  of  the  celestial  chariot. 

The  fact  that  the  Aramaic  populations  of  Northern  Mesopotamia, 
and  especially  the  Sabaeans  of  Haran,  one  of  the  oldest  cities  of  the 
world,  in  which  the  family  of  Abraham  sojourned  for  a  time  after 
their  migration  from  u  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,"  had  preserved  tradi- 
tions quite  in  accord  with  those  already  passed  in  review  is  a  mat- 
ter familiar  to  Orientalists.  These  recollections  of  the  primitive 
ages  of  humanity,  constituting  some  of  the  most  important  ele- 


MOSAIC   AND   BABYLONIAN   COSMOGONY.  183 

ments  of  their  original  cultus,  were  embodied  especially  in  the  so- 
called  "  mysteries  of  Shemal"  Hebrew  Semol,  a  particular  and 
critical  investigation  of  which  was  published  several  years  since  by 
Professor  D.  Chwolsohn,  of  St.  Petersburg,  to  which  reference  has 
been  before  made.1  This  ancient  Semitic  word  Shemal,  or  Semol, 
which  appears  in  the  Assyrian  texts  under  the  various  forms  of 
Su-mi-lu,  Su-me-lu,  and  Sa-me-la,  signifies  literally  "the  left,  the 
left  hand,"  thence  employed  from  a  very  remote  period  to  denote 
the  north,  north  pole,  etc.,  corresponding  precisely  to  the  Su-Meru 
of  the  Hindus.  As  stated  by  M.  Obry,  the  Buddhist  designation 
of  Su-Meru  is  Su-mi-lu;  and  this  is  exactly  the  "Assyrian  Su-mi-lu, 
applied  to  the  same  stellar  region.2  It  is  well  known  that  the 
Haranites  associated  the  chariot  of  the  seven  Stars  of  the  Great 
Bear  with  their  worship  of  Schemed,  who  was  thus  in  relation  to 
them,  like  the  Hebrew  Myon  in  relation  to  the  "  stars  of  El"  con- 
sidered the  eighth?  The  reader  will  see  at  once  in  the  character 
of  this  Haranite  divinity,  and  in  the  mysteries  connected  with  his 
cultus,  an  important  confirmation  of  the  views  which  have  been  ex- 
pressed relative  to  the  great  Asiatic  Olympus,  to  which  the  Hebrew 
prophet  alludes. 

Finally,  we  recall  here  the  Chinese  legend  of  the  tortoise,  taken 
as  a  symbol  of  the  cosmos.  The  upper  portion  of  the  shell  repre- 
sented the  heavens,  and  the  lower  portion  the  earth.  But  we  see 
at  a  glance  that  it  is  not  the  heavens  and  earth  in  general  which  is 
intended,  but  a  particular  and  limited  celestial  space  put  in  direct 
relation  to  a  correspondent  terrestrial  region.  Upon  the  back  of 
the  tortoise  were  the  images  of  the  eight  celestial  regions,  and  in 
connection  with  these  the  constellation  of  the  "  Northern  Measure," 
which  Dr.  Schlegel  fully  identifies  with  the  group  of  seven  stars, 
of  which  there  is  here  question.  Obviously,  these  eight  regions  had 
their  common  point  of  divergence  in  the  pole  star,  the  Su-Meru  of 
the  Hindus,  as  suggested  in  the  last  chapter.  Placed  in  direct  rela- 
tion to  these  celestial  representations  were  the  images  of  the  five 
summits  and  the  four  canals,  whose  reference  to  the  traditional 
Eden,  and  exact  accord  with  the  Hindu  conceptions  relating  to  the 
same  locality,  was  also  pointed  out  in  the  chapter  preceding. 

1  Die  Sftabier  und  der  Ssabismus,  St.  Petersburg,  1856,  vol.  ii.  pp,  319-364, 

2  Du  Berceau,  etc.,  p.  83,  note  4. 

8  Ibid.,  p.  7.     Cf.  Lenormant,  Frag,  de  Berose,  pp.  318,  319. 


184 


HAR-MOAD. 


Thus,  we  supply  here  another  indispensable  condition  of  the 
problem  which  relates  to  the  precise  geographical  locality  of  the 
Eden  of  Genesis,  as  supposed  divergent  centre  from  whence 
the  races  departed  to  the  various  countries  occupied  by  them  since 
the  opening  of  the  historical  epoch.  It  was  a  region  with  which 
certain  peculiar  geographical  features,  certain  uniform  traditions, 
and  lastly  certain  stellar  groups  were  invariably  associated.  It  is 
one  of  the  most  notable  facts  pertaining  to  Oriental  research  that 
all  these  conditions  should  be  literally  supplied  by  a  fixed  and  well- 
known  locality  on  the  earth's  surface,  from  whence,  above  all  others, 
it  is  quite  easy  to  suppose  the  various  races  who  now  people  the 
earth  first  departed. 

SEC.  71.  It  is,  then,  a  matter  in  relation  to  which  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  entertain  serious  doubts,  that  the  earliest  traditions  trans- 
mitted to  us  respecting  the  primitive  home  of  mankind  comprised 
the  two  chief  elements  insisted  upon  in  the  introductory  remarks  of 
the  present  chapter;  namely,  a  special  reference  to  a  particular 
region  of  the  starry  heavens,  placed  in  direct  relation  to  a  partic- 
ular portion  of  the  earth's  surface,  regarded  as  the  cradle  of  human- 
ity. That  the  stellar  space  thus  associated  with  the  terrestrial 
abode  of  the  first  men  was  conceived  uniformly  as  the  especial 
dwelling-place  of  the  divine  powers  is  also  a  well-established 
point;  and  it  fully  explains  the  existence  of  the  notion  in  almost 
all  antiquity  that  the  seat  of  the  heavenly  hierarchy  was  in  the 
extreme  north.  In  fact,  this  highest  central  region  of  the  northern 
heavens  was  deemed  a  celestial  paradise,  with  which  was  connected 
the  terrestrial  by  means  of  the  sacred  mount  itself,  that  united  the 
heavens  and  earth  like  a  vast  pyramid  or  column.  On  this  point, 
the  following  observations  of  M.  Obry  have  a  direct  bearing :  — 

"  From  all  antiquity,  the  populations  of  Asia  have  regarded  the 
blue  vault  of  the  firmament  as  a  garden  of  delights,  tapestried  with 
brilliant  stars  like  stones  of  fire."  "  As  the  radiance  o*f  the  snow- 
capped mountains  mingled  with  the  azure  of  ethereal  space,  blend- 
ing with  it  in  the  distance,  the  paradise  of  the  gods  appeared  to 
confound  itself  with  that  of  the  first  men ;  and  to  express  this 
vague  notion,  they  formed  the  Sanskrit  phrase  Svarga-bhoumi^ 
4  celestial  earth.'  "  1 

We  are  prepared  now  to  trace  the  genesis  of  the  ancient  temple, 
*  Du  Berceau,  etc.,  pp.  173,  174, 


MOSAIC  AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  185 

not  merely  with  respect  to  and  by  means  of  its  form,  but  through 
direct  tradition  derived  from  the  primitive  abode  of  humanity. 
M.  Obry  has  shown  that  the  diluvian  mount  and  the  mount  of 
paradise  were  uniformly  identified  in  primitive  tradition.  This 
fact  \vas  noticed  and  insisted  upon  by  the  older  mythologists ;  and 
no  doubt  exists  in  relation  to  it.  These  two  mountains  identified 
as  one,  we  are  now  able  definitely  to  locate  on  the  earth's  surface, 
and  to  show  that  all  the  traditionary  conceptions  relating  to  it 
regarded  a  particular  earth  with  peculiar  geographical  features,  and 
a  particular  heaven  embracing  astronomical  characteristics  not  less 
remarkable.  The  earth  thus  designated  was  the  terrestrial  para- 
dise, abode  of  primeval  humanity.  The  heaven  put  in  direct  rela- 
tion to  it  was  conceived  as  the  celestial  paradise,  the  seat  of  the 
divine  hierarchy.  The  two  were  united  by  the  sacred  mountain 
itself,  like  a  vast  pyramidal  column  reaching  from  earth  to  heaven. 
Recall  now  the  fact  stated  by  Moses  that  the  founders  of  Babylon 
had  journeyed  from  the  east  to  the  land  of  Shinar,  and  had  there 
undertaken  to  build  an  immense  tower,  whose  top  should  reach  the 
heaven,  or,  in  other  words,  should  represent  the  heaven ;  a  tower 
which  cuneiform  scholars  usually  agree  to  identify  with  the  pyram- 
idal temple  of  Borsippa,  in  all  respects  similar  to  the  brick  pyramid 
of  Sakkara  in  Egypt,  belonging  obviously  to  the  same  chronological 
epoch.  Recall  the  fact  also,  as  stated  by  M.  Lenormant,  and  which 
we  are  now  able  to  confirm,  that  the  pyramidal  temple  of  the 
Chaldseans  was  an  imitation,  an  artificial  reproduction,  of  the  tradi- 
tional mount  of  paradise,  the  Har-Moad  of  Isaiah,  located  far  to 
the  east  and  north,  with  which  the  stars  of  El,  the  seven  stars  of 
the  chariot,  had  been  uniformly  associated. 

In  the  passage  from  Nebuchadnezzar's  inscription  relating  to  the 
tower  of  Borsippa,  a  rendering  of  which  was  given  in  the  first  chap- 
ter (sec.  10),  this  structure  is  styled  "the  temple  of  the  seven 
lights  of  the  earth."  The  word  "  earth  "  here  is  not  fully  correct. 
The  original  is  An-ki,  "the  astronomical,  heavenly,  or  divine  earth," 
distinguished  from  the  ordinary  geographical  earth  by  the  deter- 
minative An,  "  elevated,  heaven,  god."  The  allusion  is  obviously 
to  the  sacred  mount  of  the  east,  from  which  the  builders  had  re- 
cently migrated,  and  of  which  this  structure  was  an  artificial  repro- 
duction. The  seven  lights  of  this  "  divine  earth,"  therefore,  were 
the  seven  stars  of  the  chariot,  associated  in  tradition  with  the  mount 


186 


HAR-MOAD. 


of   paradise,  the   cradle  of   humanity.     The  seven  stages  of   the 
pyramid  denoted  primarily  these  seven  luminaries,  the  stars  of  El ; 
and  thus,  the  edifice  might  significantly  be  termed  Bab-el,  "  gate  of 
El,"  or  Kd-an-ra,  "gate  of  the  god  of  the   deluge,"  in  reference 
both  to  the  diluvian  mount  on  one  hand,  and  to  the  Har-Moad  on 
the  other.     The  direct  traditional  origin  of  the  pyramidal  temple 
from  the  mount  of   paradise   is  thus  placed  beyond  question.     It 
was  an  image  of  the  cosmos,  consisting  of  the  two  chief  divisions, 
heaven  and  earth,  as  shown  in  the  last  chapter.     But   this  cosmos 
was  the  primitive  one  known  to  man  ;  it  consisted  of  the  partic- 
ular heaven  and  earth   of  primeval  tradition,  that  is   to  say,  the 
celestial  and  terrestrial  paradise  united  together  by  the  sacred  mount. 
The  eighth  stage,  of  a  cubical  form,  like  the  Holy  of  Holies  of  the 
Jewish  tabernacle  and  the  cubical  stone  of  the  temple-craft,  repre- 
sented this  particular  celestial  region,  the  Su-Meru  of  the  Hindus, 
the  Shemal  of  the  Haranites,  the  Su-mi-lu  of  the  cuneiform  texts, 
one  with  the  Su-mi-lu  of  the  Buddhists  of  Central  Asia.     The  base- 
ment of  the  pyramidal  temple,   like   the  outer  court  of  the  tab- 
ernacle, represented  the  earth ;  but  this  was  a  particular  earth,  the 
"divine    earth,"    the   terrestrial   paradise.     The   seven   stars  were 
denoted  by  the  golden  candlestick,  correspondent  to  the  stages  of 
the  pyramid.     It  has  been  supposed  that  the  seven  stages  of  the 
tower  of  Borsippa  related  to  the  seven  planets,  since  they  were  col- 
ored differently,  and  according  to  the  mystical  theory  which  appro- 
priated a  particular  color  to  each  planet.     All  this  is  quite  prob- 
able, for  according  to  the  primitive  conceptions  everything  revolved 
around  the  sacred  mount  as  the  central  point  of  the  universe  ;  the 
fixed   stars,   the  planets,  but  particularly   the  seven  stars   of   the 
chariot,  the  divine  Rishis   of  the  Hindus.     The  Haranites  united 
the  cultus  of  the  planets  with  that  of  these  seven  stars,  in  the  mys- 
teries of  Samael ;  and  it  is  quite  probable   such  was  the  case  at 
Babylon.     In  any  event,  there  must  have  been  a  direct  reference 
to  the  "  stars  of  El"  in  the  phrase  to  which  we  allude  :  "  the  seven 
lights  of  the  divine  earth."     This  supposition  is  confirmed  by  the 
remarks  of  M.  Lenormant,  relative  to  the  temples  Bit-kliarris  and 
Arali,  representing  the  rotating  centre  of  the  superior  hemisphere 
of  heaven.     But  in  addition  to  these  facts,  tracing  the  origin  of  the 
temple  through  tradition  to  the  sacred  mount  of  paradise,  we  should 
recall  the  proofs  presented  in  the  last  chapter,  tending  to  connect 


MOSAIC   AND   BABYLONIAN   COSMOGONY  187 


the  system  of  nine  squares,  represented  in  the  Accadian  sign 
"temple,"  and  in  the  mystical  seal  symbolizing  the  cosmos;  we 
should  recall,  I  say,  the  fact  of  the  direct  connection  of  this  system 
of  divisions  with  the  traditional  centre  of  the  world,  the  Mem  of 
the  Hindus,  the  Eden  of  Genesis.  Little  doubt  can  exist  that  the 
primary  notion  of  the  augurial  temple  of  a  square  figure  exactly 
oriented,  involving  a  particular  stellar  space  placed  in  relation  to  a 
terrestrial  one,  had  its  origin  likewise  in  the  holy  mount  of  the 
east,  uniting  a  particular  heaven  and  earth,  constituting,  in  fact,  the 
real  cosmos  known  to  the  first  men.  Indeed,  I  believe  that  all 
the  ancient  cosmogonies,  as  well  as  the  primitive  doctrine  of  the 
temple,  pertained  originally  to  this  particular  heaven  and  earth,  and 
not  to  the  heaven  and  earth  in  general. 

SEC.  72.  The  mysteries  of  Shemal,  according  to  the  researches 
of  Professor  D.  Chwolsohn,  and  as  previously  stated,  were  cele- 
brated annually  at  different  periods  of  the  year  in  an  underground 
room  or  cave;  and  this  writer  judges,  with  much  reason,  that  they 
had  some  connection  with  the  primitive  cave  worship,  which  was 
held  in  such  veneration  in  all  antiquity.  Usually,  these  cave  mys- 
teries comprised  seven  degrees  of  initiation,  as  illustrated  so  fre- 
quently by  the  ancient  art  monuments,  where  a  rocky  ascent,  a  stair- 
case, or  mystical  ladder,  exhibiting  seven  stages,  is  represented.1 
These  degrees  of  initiation  had  reference,  probably,  to  the  seven 
stars  of  the  chariot,  to  which  were  joined  the  seven  planetary 
bodies  in  the  cultus  of  the  Haranite  Sabseans  ;  and  as  Shemal  was 
unquestionably  connected  with  the  north,  the  celestial  pole,  the  Su- 
Meru  of  the  Hindus,  these  mysteries  must  have  had  reference  to  the 
sacred  mount  of  paradise,  of  which  the  pyramidal  temples  with 
their  seven  stages  were  artificial  reproductions.  On  the  top  of  these 
pyramids  was  erected  the  sanctuary  of  a  square  or  ..cubical  form, 
constituting  thus  the  eighth  stage.  This  sanctuary,  or  eighth  stage, 
in  relation  to  the  other  seven,  held  the  precise  position  that  Shemal 
did  in  relation  to  the  seven  stars  of  the  chariot  ;  and  so,  of  the 
Hebrew  Elyon,  the  "  Highest,"  with  reference  to  the  "  stars  of  El." 
It  is  remarkable  that  this  term  Elyon  Cjvb^),  from  a-ldh  (rrb'p),  "to 
go  up,  to  mount,  to  ascend,"  strictly  related,  therefore,  to  the  form 
o-lah  (nb$),  "  an  ascent,  steps,  stair-way,"  and  to  a-lia-ydh  (rrrby), 
"  loft,  upper  chamber,  put  for  the  chambers  of  heaven,"  both  derived 
1  Vid.  De  Hummer,  Culie  de  Milhra,  PI.  V. 


188 


HAR-MOAD. 


from  the  same  verbal  root*  had  reference  originally  to  the  degrees 
of  ascent,  but  especially  to  the  highest,  the  eighth,  corresponding  to 
the  Phoenician  Eshmun,  "  the  eighth,"  all  of  which,  in  my  view, 
points  to  a  primitive  connection  with  the  paradisiacal  mount,  and  to 
that  particular  stellar  region  associated  with  it,  whose  peculiar  and 
striking  features  were  well  calculated  to  give  birth,  under  all  the 
circumstances,  to  this  entire  circle  of  primitive  ideas.1  As  expressly 
held  by  M.  F.  Lenormant,  in  which  he  but  supports  the  views  of 
his  lamented  father,  M.  C.  Lenormant,  the  vision  of  Jacob's  ladder, 
which  also  united  the  heaven  and  earth,  in  memory  of  which  the 
patriarch  erected  a  pillar,  giving  it  the  significant  name  of  Beth-el, 
or  "  house  of  El,"  pertained  to  the  same  category  of  conceptions  as 
the  pyramidal  temple  itself;  and  an  important  proof  of  such  as- 
similation is  that  the  Egyptian  hieroglyph  of  a  pyramid  in  stages 
has  the  value  ar,  "a  ladder,"  from  the  verb  ar,  "  to  ascend."2 

With  respect  to  the  primitive  cave  worship,  of  which  that  paid 
to  Shemal  was  as  ancient,  probably,  as  any,  we  are  not  to  conclude, 
as  some  modern  writers  have  done,  and  as  Professor  Chwolsohn 
himself  is  inclined  to  do,  that  it  pertained  to  a  crude,  savage  condi- 
tion of  humanity.  The  archetypal  cave,  to  which  the  mysteries  of 
Shemal  related,  was,  as  heretofore  affirmed,  the  celestial  vault,  the 
central,  polar  region  of  the  heavens,  to  which  the  very  name  Shemal, 
like  the  Hindu  Su-Meru,  definitely  appertained.  The  cuneiform 
texts  afford  direct  proof  that  this  particular  stellar  space  was  con- 
ceived as  a  vault,  a  cave.  First,  the  Accadian  character,  usually 
employed  ideographically  to  denote  the  heavens,  Assyrian  Samu, 
has  the  value  E,  signifying  "  vault,  house  "  (Rep.  254).  Secondly, 
the  Accadian  dak,  "  cave,  vault,  blue"  (Rep.  130),  denotes  astro- 
nomically the  "  star  of  the  vault ; "  and  this  is  equated  in  the  texts 
to  the  god  Mak-ru,  the  name  of  Mercury  corresponding  to  the 
zodiacal  sign  Leo.3  Hence,  the  star  of  the  vault,  or  cave,  was  asso- 
ciated in  some  way  with  the  extreme  north,  the  most  elevated  region 
of  the  heavens.  It  was  this  celestial  cave,  therefore,  to  which  the 
mysteries  of  Shemal,  celebrated  in  an  artificial  one,  had  especial 

1  For  the  astro-religious  conception  of  the  god  Eslimun,  see  Movers,  Phoenizier, 
I  pp.  527-536.     Cf.  Lenormant,  Fray,  de  Berose,  pp.  382-389. 

2  Frag,  de  Berose,  pp.  358,  359  ;  also  De  Rouge,  Chrestomathie  Egyplienne,  pt. 
1st,  p.  73,  a,  40. 

s  2d  Rawl.  PI.  4D,  No.  3,  1.  30,  and  3d  Rawl.  PI.  53,  No.  2,  Obs.  1.  6. 


MOSAIC   AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  189 

reference.  Shemal,  as  being  the  eighth  in  relation  to  the  seven 
stars  of  the  chariot,  must  have  been  the  eighth  Cabiriac  divinity, 
since  the  high-priest  who  presided  over  the  mysteries  was  especially 
called  Kabir,  that  is,  a  Cabirus. 

Whether  we  speak  of  the  pyramidal  temple,  then,  which  Dr. 
Bahr  has  shown  to  have  been  primitive  in  all  Asia,  or  of  the  sacred 
caves,  in  which  many  have  thought  to  find  the  original  type  of  all 
edifices  devoted  to  the  worship  of  God,  it  is  above  all  apparent, 
from  the  data  now  before  us,  that  we  have  to  go  to  the  paradisiacal 
mountain  for  the  absolutely  primitive  model  of  all  of  them.  The 
mysteries  of  Shemal  referred  to  it,  and  the  proofs  now  before  us  are 
abundant  to  the  effect  that  the  two  Semitic  titles  of  divinity,  El, 
the  "  Strong  One,"  and  Elyon,  the  "  Highest,"  were  originally  asso- 
ciated with  the  order  of  ideas  centring  in  the  same  traditional  local- 
ity. Here  was  the  birthplace  'of  all  the  mysteries,  of  all  the  cos- 
mogonies, of  the  primitive  doctrine  of  the  temple.  Here  was  the 
original  Beth-el,  "house  of  El,"  the  "gate  of  heaven,"  the  "lad- 
der "  that  reached  from  earth  to  heaven.  The  conical  stone,  even, 
which  appertained  to  the  mother  goddess,  was  only  a  miniature 
mountain  of  paradise. 

SEC.  73.  We  wish  to  recall,  now,  the  three  fundamental  pro- 
positions with  which  we  entered  upon  the  investigations  of  the 
present  chapter.  1st.  There  existed  a  particular,  primitive,  and 
traditionary  heaven  and  earth,  these  being  put  in  direct  relation  to 
each  other,  one  regarded  as  the  especial  abode  of  the  divine  powers, 
the  other  as  that  of  the  first  men.  2d.  The  conceived  primary 
divisions  of  each,  together  with  the  central  points  of  their  supposed 
generation,  coincided  exactly  in  one  case  to  those  in  the  other.  3d. 
By  virtue  of  these  divisions,  and  upon  principles  heretofore  estab- 
lished, such  heaven  and  earth  constituted  at  once  the  original  cos- 
mos and  the  archetypal  temple.  The  primary  division  of  the  cos- 
mos was  coincident  with  the  very  first  act  of  creation,  the  separa- 
tion of  chaos,  out  of  the  two  portions  of  which  heaven  and  earth 
were  formed.  All  the  ancient  cosmogonies  represent  this  first  act 
as  one  of  separation,  and  never  as  a  creation  from  nonentity.  It  is 
obvious  that  the  Mosaic  text  ought  to  be  interpreted  in  harmony 
with  uniform  tradition  derived  from  the  same  primitive  source. 
But  the  cosmos  to  be  understood  here,  as  must  be  now  apparent  to 
the  reader,  does  not  regard  the  heaven  and  earth  in  general,  but 


190 


HAR-MOAD. 


the  particular  and  limited  neaven  and  earth  known  to  the  first  men, 
and  to  which  exclusively  all  the  traditions  relate.  In  other  words, 
the  cosmos  here  intended  consisted  of  the  celestial  paradise  on  one 
hand,  and  on  the  other,  of  the  terrestrial  paradise,  these  being 
placed  in  direct  relation,  and  united  by  the  sacred  mount.  I  think 
it  is  safe  to  affirm  that  the  cosmical  doctrines  of  antiquity  were 
thus  originally  limited  in  their  application.  The  Hindu  cosmogony 
was  evidently  associated  with  Mt.  Mem.  Such  must  have  been  the 
case  with  the  Chinese  system.  The  images  upon  the  upper  and 
lower  shell  of  the  tortoise,  as  we  have  seen,  related  exclusively  to  a 
particular  celestial  and  terrestrial  space,  coinciding  exactly  with  the 
Hindu  tradition  centring  in  Meru.  The  fact  that  the  Mosaic  and 
Babylonian  accounts  of  creation  conclude  with  the  formation  of 
man,  placing  him  in  a  certain  and  definite  locality  on  the  earth's 
surface,  this  being  identical  with  that  of  Meru,  tends  strongly  in 
favor  of  the  same  conclusion.  It  was  only  in  a  vague  sense  that 
the  heaven  and  earth  in  general  were  included.  The  entire  notion 
of  the  cosmos  had  preeminently  a  local  origin  and  reference.  All 
the  temples  constructed  in  imitation  of  this  cosmos  had  a  similar 
limited  reference.  They  represented  the  celestial  and  terrestrial 
paradises,  one  as  the  especial  dwelling  of  the  divinity,  the  other  as 
the  abode  of  the  first  men.  The  pyramidal  temple,  as  M.  Lenor- 
mant  has  correctly  observed,  was  definitely  an  artificial  reproduc- 
tion of  the  sacred  mount.  The  Hebrew  tabernacle  had  its  genesis 
from  the  pyramid,  and  thus  embodied  a  like  traditional  idea. 

The  primary  division  of  the  cosmos,  as  represented  in  the  Baby- 
lonian sphere,  was  that  from  west  to  east  through  the  sign  Aries, 
corresponding  to  the  Accadian  monogram  Bara,  which,  as  title  of 
the  goddess  Bara,  related  to  the  woman  Thalatth,  or  Tiamat,  per- 
sonification of  chaos.  According  to  this,  the  superior  hemisphere 
must  be  assimilated  to  the  dwelling  of  the  divine  powers,  to  the 
celestial  paradise,  and  the  lower  to  the  primeval  abode  of  man,  or 
to  the  terrestrial  paradise.  The  fact  that  the  terrestrial  paradise 
had  been  definitely  located  in  the  inferior  hemisphere  will  be  fully 
substantiated  in  the  chapters  immediately  following  the  present. 
The  centres  respectively  of  these  two  divisions  of  the  cosmos, 
as  known  to  the  primitive  man,  coincided  exactly  one  with  the 
other.  Meru  was  centre  of  the  earth,  and  located  precisely  under 
Su-Meru,  central  point  of  the  heavens;  while  the  sacred  mountain 


MOSAIC   AND   BABYLONIAN   COSMOGONY.  191 

united  the  two.  With  Su-Meru,  of  course,  are  to  be  identified  the 
Haranite  Shemal,  the  Su-mi-lu  of  the  cuneiform  texts,  and  finally 
the  Cardo  of  the  Latins.  The  term  Car  do  is  that  from  which  the 
word  Cardinal  is  derived,  applied  to  the  four  principal  points  of 
the  compass.  It  was  applied,  as  we  have  seen,  to  a  species  of  gate 
or  door,  having  pivots  projecting  from  each  end,  upon  which  the 
door  turned.  These  pivots  symbolized  the  two  poles  of  the  cosmos, 
the  Su-Meru  on  one  hand,  and  the  Ku-meru  on  the  other.  The  gate 
itself  referred  to  that  of  the  cosmical  temple,  of  which  the  ordinary 
temple  was  an  image.  Again,  the  Cardo  denoted  the  main  line  in 
land  surveying ;  this  being  drawn  from  north  to  south.  The  gods, 
as  Dr.  William  Smith  has  further  told  us,  were  supposed  to  be 
seated  in  the  north,  and  looked  upon  the  earth  in  the  same  direc- 
tion as  that  faced  by  the  augur.  The  seat  of  the  gods  as  here 
assumed  is  now  explained.  The  region  referred  to  was  the  sum- 
mit of  the  sacred  mount,  the  Su-Meru  of  the  Hindus,  Har-Moad  of 
Isaiah,  Bit-kharris  of  the  cuneiform  text,  Shemal  of  the  Haranite 
Sabseans. 

This  line  drawn  from  north  to  south,  as  will  be  readily  perceived, 
united  the  two  centres  respectively  of  the  celestial  and  terrestrial 
paradises.  As  represented  upon  the  sphere,  it  would  unite  the  two 
poles  of  the  universe,  cutting  the  line  drawn  from  west  to  east 
through  Aries  at  right  angles.  We  should  have  thus  the  image  of 
.a  cross,  which  Herr  Nissen  has  stated  formed  the  basis  of  the  entire 
theory  of  the  temple.  The  point  of  intersection,  properly  speaking, 
should  be  identified  with  Su-Meru,  or  the  north  pole,  where  the  sol- 
stitial and  equinoctial  colures  intersect  each  other.  Here  was  the 
central  point  of  divergence  of  the  eight  celestial  regions,  four  primary 
and  four  intermediate,  as  was  fully  shown  in  the  last  chapter,  and  as 
all  the  circumstances  compel  us  to  assume.  With  these  eight  celes- 
tial regions,  of  which,  as  I  believe,  the  eight-rayed  star,  constituting 
the  hieratic  form  of  the  Accadian  An,  "  elevated,  heaven,  god,"  was 
intended  as  a  symbol,  the  eight  terrestrial  regions  -in  all  respects 
coincided.  These  were  the  divisions  of  the  cosmos  as  known  to  the 
first  men,  and  the  two  paradises,  thus  divided  and  thus  united  by 
the  sacred  mount,  were  at  once  the  world  and  the  temple,  of  which 
all  subsequent  temple  structures  were  artificial  reproductions.  The 
plateau  of  Pamir,  where  modern  criticism  has  definitely  fixed  the 
locality  of  the  sacred  mount,  constitutes,  in  fa-jt,  the  great  water- 


192 


HAR-MOAD. 


shed  of  all  Asia,  being  fof  this  reason  regarded  as  the  dome  of  the 
world.  It  would  be  here  naturally  that  the  dry  land  would  first 
appear,  whether  at  the  time  of  the  creation  of  man,  or  at  the  period 
of  the  deluge.  The  representation  of  this  elevated  region  by  a 
pyramid  in  stages  doubtless  proceeded  from  the  notion  of  vast  nat- 
ural terraces  rising  one  upon  the  other,  from  the  country  below  to 
the  elevated  plain  of  Pamir.  This  region  is  not  what  would  be 
called  to-day  either  productive  or  salubrious.  But  there  are  evi- 
dences that  the  climate  has  materially  changed  within  the  period 
when  it  was  first  occupied  by  man.  In  fact,  the  earliest  portions  of 
the  Zend-Avesta  record  distinct  notices  of  this  gradual  modification 
of  climate,  from  one  of  remarkable  salubrity  to  one  of  intense 
severity,  where  there  were  ten  months  of  winter  to  two  of  summer, 
according  to  the  traditional  conception.  • 

SEC.  74.  It  is  evident  that,  geographically  speaking,  and  so  far 
as  concerns  all  historical  tradition,  we  have  arrived  now  at  the  pri- 
mitive starting-point  of  humanity  on  earth.  Additional  evidences, 
tending  to  the  same  conclusion,  will  be  constantly  presenting  them- 
selves during  the  entire  progress  of  the  investigations  contained  in 
this  treatise.  But  I  believe  these  three  chapters  on  the  ancient 
cosmogonies,  especially  the  Mosaic  and  Babylonian,  have  sufficed  to 
settle*  the  question  as  regards  the  original  centre  of  the  populations, 
institutions,  and  sacred  traditions  of  antiquity.  I  do  not  speak  here 
of  the  geological  evidences  now  supposed  to  exist,  thought  by  many 
to  fix  the  origin  of  man  at  an  epoch  so  immensely  remote  as  to  ex- 
ceed all  previous  conceptions,  and  even  the  most  extravagant  theories 
of  former  periods.  That  to  which  I  refer  is  the  earliest  tradition- 
ary epoch  of  human  existence.  In  this  regard  I  am  confident  that 
antiquity  does  not  afford  a  single  reliable  notice  that  conducts  us 
beyond  Mt.  Meru.  This  was  preeminently  and  in  all  respects  the 
Beginning.  In  relation  to  this  point,  as  the  reader  now  fully  per- 
ceives, modern  criticism  establishes  the  truth  and  integrity  of  the 
Mosaic  account  in  a  manner  the  most  complete. 

Nothing  results  more  plainly  from  these  investigations  than  the 
one  great  fact  that  the  standpoint  of  the  Mosaic  and  Babylonian 
cosmogony,  and  indeed  of  all  the  ancient  cosmical  theories,  was  very 
far  different  from  that  of  modern  geology.  I  am  not  prepared  to 
take  the  position  that  the  Mosaic  and  Babylonian  accounts  of  crea- 
tion contain  no  reference,  fundamentally,  to  physical  ideas,  to  the 


MOSAIC   AND  BABYLONIAN  COSMOGONY.  193 

origin  of  the  material  universe  in  the  modern  sense.  It  is  to  be 
admitted,  perhaps,  that  a  purely  physical  philosophy  is  in  some  way 
involved.  But  as  must  be  now  apparent,  the  standpoints  respec- 
tively of  "  Genesis  and  geology  "  are  so  essentially  diverse  that  the 
attempt  to  construe  one  by  the  other,  and  to  reconcile  both  upon 
one  and  the  same  basis,  is  to  undertake  the  solution  of  a  problem 
whose  constituent  elements  are,  in  many  respects,  fundamental  mis- 
conceptions. Instead  of  a  literal  HISTORY  of  creation,  in  the  modern 
sense,  I  see  in  these  ancient  cosmogonies  the  groundwork  of  the 
primitive  PHILOSOPHY  of  the  universe,  of  man,  and  of  human  civili- 
zation, in  the  widest  and  most  comprehensive  view  of  these  subjects. 
Not  history,  but  philosophy,  —  this  expresses  precisely  my  theory. 
Physical  ideas  form  the  base  of  the  system,  sublime  religious  con- 
ceptions the  apex.  Human  nature  in  its  original  condition,  and  in 
its  intimate  relation  to  the  Divine  Being,  constitutes  the  point  of 
view  for  the  whole.  The  idea  of  the  first  covenant  established 
between  God  and  humanity  is  the  central  one  of  all ;  and  this 
accounts  for  the  fact  that  the  notion  of  division,  derived  originally 
from  the  customs  of  the  altar,  appears  throughout  as  the  ground- 
conception.  The  cosmos  is  conceived  as  a  temple,  a  house,  a  dwell- 
ing-place of  the  Almighty.  The  temple  artificially  constructed  is 
an  image  of  the  cosmos,  and  as  such  is  likewise  a  dwelling  of  God. 
Finally,  it  results  that  man  is  the  true  cosmos,  the  real  temple,  the 
actual  abode  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  In  other  words,  the  church  con- 
stitutes the  sum  and  substance  of  the  entire  theory.  The  primitive 
church  was  the  primitive  cosmos,  the  first  heaven  and  earth.  The 
creation  of  a  new  heaven  and  earth  imparts  the  foundation  of  a  new 
church,  of  a  new  divine  dispensation ;  another  step  to  regain  the 
lost  paradise. 

Such  were  some  of  the  grand  and  noble  conceptions  that  pre- 
vailed at  the  starting-point  of  humanity,  geographically  and  histori- 
cally speaking,  and  so  far  as  the  earliest  traditions  known  to  anti- 
quity afford  us  the  slightest  hint.  It  would  be  difficult  indeed, 
as  already  observed,  to  go  back  of  Mt.  Meru.  It  was  there  that 
the  human  race  was  cradled.  It  was  there  that  the  ancient  reli- 
gions and  civilizations  had  their  birth.  It  was  there,  on  that  sum- 
mit which  penetrated  the  rotating  centre  of  the  celestial  sphere, 
around  which  rolled  the  flaming  chariot  of  the  immortal  powers, 
that  heaven  and  earth,  the  divine  and  human,  were  first  united  in 


194 


HAR-MOAD. 


blissful  fellowship,  in  happy  intercourse.  To  retrace  those  mystical 
stages  down  which  the  fall  of  man  precipitated  the  posterity  of 
Adam  has  been  the  profound,  earnest  problem  of  all  the  religions 
of  the  world.  Yes,  and  the  sacred  mountains  up  whose  mystic 
steps  the  races  have  labored  to  ascend,  whether  Ararat  or  Kharsak- 
kurra,  whether  Sinai,  Gerizim,  or  Sion,  have  all  had  their  root,  their 
traditional  origin,  in  the  mountain  of  the  assembly  of  the  stars,  on 
the  sides  of  the  north ;  and  it  will  be  there,  if  ever,  that  the  hope- 
ful prediction  of  the  prophet  will  find  its  spiritual  fulfillment : 
"  And  he  will  destroy  in  this  mountain  the  face  of  the  covering  cast 
over  all  people,  and  the  vail  spread  over  all  nations  "  (Is.  xxv.  7). 


BOOK  III. 

THE   CELESTIAL  EARTH. 
CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   TERRESTRIAL  PARADISE  ASSIMILATED  TO   THE  GREEK 

HADES. 

SEC.  75.  The  time  has  been  when  many  learned  critics,  not 
without  much  reason,  considered  it- a  matter  of  uncertainty  whether 
the  Garden  of  Eden  ever  had  an  actual  existence  on  the  earth's 
surface.  In  the  absence  of  reliable  data  from  which  to  proceed  in 
attempting  to  fix  geographically  its  location,  the  only  resort  was  to 
speculation;  and,  as  frequently  occurs  in  such  cases,  the  multiplicity 
of  conflicting  theories  put  forth  tended  to  throw  doubt  upon  the 
entire  subject.  But  in  view  of  the  facts  and  considerations  pre- 
sented in  the  last  chapter,  together  with  the  concurrent  opinions  of 
so  many  distinguished  Orientalists,  it  is  impossible  to  give  place  to 
any  further  skepticism  in  relation  to  the  matter.  The  traditional 
mount  of  paradise  had  an  actual  historical  and  geographical  exist- 
ence, and  its  locality  on  the  earth's  surface  has  been  definitely  ascer- 
tained. On  this  point  M.  Lenormant  makes  the  following  observa- 
tions :  — 

"  The  primitive  Meru  is  situated  to  the  north,  in  relation  even  to 
the  first  habitations  of  the  Aryans  upon  the  soil  of  India,  in  the 
Pendjab  and  on  the  banks  of  the  upper  Indus.  Nor  is  this  a  fabu- 
lous mountain,  a  stranger  to  terrestrial  geography.  The  Baron 
D'Eckstein  has  demonstrated  its  real  situation  towards  the  Serica 
of  the  ancients ;  that  is  to  say,  in  the  southwest  part  of  Thibet."  1 

Thus,  it  is  necessary  to  give  to  the  Mosaic  description  of  the 

1  Frag,  de  Berose,  pp.  300,  301. 


196 


HAR-MOAD. 


Garden  of  Eden  a  literal  Construction :  1st.  So  far  as  regards  the 
existence  of  such  a  region  on  the  earth  possessing  the  geographical 
characteristics  set  forth  in  the  narrative.  2d.  So  far  as  relates  to 
the  fact  that  this  region  was  the  abode  of  the  first  progenitors  of 
mankind.  In  a  word,  we  are  forced  to  consider  the  Gan-Eden  of 
Genesis,  otherwise  called  the  terrestrial  paradise,  as  a  literal  his- 
torical and  geographical  fact.  Such  being  the  case,  it  is  a  most  sin- 
gular and  seemingly  inexplicable  circumstance  that  this  traditional 
abode  should  have  been  subsequently  transferred  in  conception  to 
the  under  world,  and  assimilated  to  the  state  of  the  dead,  to  the 
Greek  Hades.  That  such  a  transfer  had  been  made  by  the  Hebrews 
in  our  Saviour's  time  is  manifest  from  his  language  addressed  to  the 
penitent  thief  on  the  cross:  '•  Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  To-day  shalt 
thou  be  with  me  in  paradise  "  (Luke  xxiii.  43).  The  term  "  para- 
dise," as  here  employed,  is  evidently  put  for  the  state  of  the  dead, 
for  Hades.  It  cannot  be  interpreted  abstractly  as  "  a  state  of  hap- 
piness," according  to  Dr.  Barnes  (notes  in  loc.),  for  it  had  a  definite 
theological  sense  among  the  Jews,  connected  with  the  Eden  of 
Genesis  on  one  hand,  and  with  the  world  of  disembodied  spirits 
on  the  other.  Alluding  to  the  Jews,  Dr.  Campbell  remarks :  — 

"  The  Greek  Hades  they  found  well  adapted  to  express  the  He- 
brew Sheol  (state  of  the  dead).  This  they  came  to  conceive  as 
including  different  sorts  of  habitations,  for  ghosts  of  different  char- 
acters. And  though  they  did  not  receive  the  terms  Elysium,  or 
Elysian  fields,  as  suitable  appellations  for  the  regions  peopled  by 
good  spirits,  they  took,  instead  of  them,  as  better  adapted  to  their 
own  theology,  the  Garden  of  Eden,  or  Paradise,  a  name  originally 
Persian,  by  which  the  word  answering  to  garden,  especially  when 
applied  to  Eden,  had  commonly  been  rendered  by  the  Seventy.  To 
denote  the  same  state,  they  sometimes  used  the  phrase  Abraham's 
bosom,  a  metaphor  borrowed  from  the  manner  in  which  they 
reclined  at  meals."  1 

The  same  author  observes  in  another  place :  — 

"  When  our  Saviour,  therefore,  said  to  the  penitent  thief  on  the 
cross  :  4  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise,'  he  said  no- 
thing that  contradicts  what  is  affirmed  of  his  descent  into  Hades, 
in  the  Psalms,  in  the  Acts,  or  in  the  Apostles'  Creed.  Paradise  is 
another  name  for  what  is,  in  the  parable  (of  Lazarus  and  the  rich 
man),  called  Abraham's  bosom."2 


Campbell's  Gospels,  Dissertation  vi.,  sec.  19. 


2  Ibid.,  sec.  21, 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  197 

Christ's  descent  into  Hades  was  not  inconsistent  with  the  notion 
of  his  entrance  into  paradise  at  death,  for  the  reason  that  the  two 
regions  had  been  assimilated  to  each  other.  Paradise  had  come  to 
be  regarded  as  a  particular  apartment  of  Hades.  But  the  Hebrews 
were  not  alone  in  having  made  this  transfer  of  paradise,  whose  his- 
torical and  geographical  character  has  been  demonstrated  by  mod- 
ern criticism,  to  be  the  under  world,  or  state  of  the  dead.  It  is 
known  to  scholars  that  a  certain  class  of  ideas  prevailed  in  antiquity, 
of  which  the  phrase  "  celestial  earth  "  may  be  taken  as  expressing 
the  underlying  conception.  Beside  the  allusions  to  this  subject  by 
some  classic  authors,  it  appears  that  the  Hindu  and  Persian  sacred 
books  contain  occasional  references  to  it,  and  among  these,  the  pas- 
sage already  cited  from  M.  Obry,  relating  to  the  Sanskrit  phrase 
Svarga-bhoumi,  "the  celestial  earth,"  affords  a  direct  example. 
This  conception  of  a  celestial  or  heavenly  earth,  as  it  formed  itself  in 
the  minds  of  different  peoples  in  antiquity,  was  obviously  connected 
originally  with  the  traditional  abode  of  the  first  men,  or  the  sacred 
mount  of  paradise,  with  which,  as  shown  in  our  last  chapter,  the 
diluvian  mount  on  whose  summit  the  ark  of  Noah  rested  after  the 
flood  had  been  uniformly  identified.  But  this  celestial  earth,  also, 
together  with  various  notions  associated  with  it,  and  with  the  dilu- 
vian mountain,  had  been  transferred  to  the  under  world,  to  the 
Greek  Hades,  in  fact,  and  I  proceed  to  offer  some  proofs,  not  only 
of  the  association  of  the  celestial  earth  with  Mt.  Mem,  but  of  the 
singular  transformation  of  ideas  to  which  we  allude. 

SEC.  76.  In  order  to  place  the  passage  relating  to  the  celestial 
earth,  previously  quoted  from  M.  Obry,  in  immediate  connection 
with  other  remarks  by  the  author  appertaining  to  the  same  circle 
of  ideas,  it  will  be  introduced  again  among  the  subjoined  extracts 
referring  to  Mt.  Meru  and  the  goddess  lira,  or  Ida,  personification 
of  it:  — 

"  We  see  that  this  name,  which  in  the  Vedas  is  variously  writ- 
ten as  lla,  Ida,  lira,  or  Ira,  designated  primitively  4  the  earth,'  as 
has  been  observed  already  by  M.  Wilson  and  M.  Lassen.  We  may 
conclude  with  M.  A.  Kuhn  and  M.  Alfred  Maury  that  the  Greek 
name  Era,  and  that  of  Ireland  Ire,  '  earth,'  came  from  the  Sanskrit 
Ira,  and  afterwards  that  the  title  of  the  goddess  Rhea  was  formed 
from  it  by  metathesis.  But  as  Ida  of  the  Vedas  was  a  veritable 
Parvati,  or  k  mountain  goddess,'  it  is  allowable,  perhaps,  to  find 
here  the  origin  of  the  name  Ida  applied  to  certain  mountains  in 
Phrygia,  Crete,  etc." 


198 


HAR-MOAD. 


"  It  is  understood,  also,  tliat  Meru  with  its  four  great  supports,  or 
abutting  mountains,  rises  in  the  middle  of  the  central  continent 
Madhya-dvipa,  itself  very  elevated,  to  which  they  give  these  vari- 
ous titles:  Svargorbhoumi,  '•celestial  earth;'  Souvarna-bhoumi, 
4  earth  of  gold ; '  Akrida-bhoumi,  *  earth  of  pleasures ; '  Touchita- 
bhoumi,  4  earth  of  joy,'  but  more  generally  those  of  lla-varcha,  Ila- 
vrita,  lla-varta,  '  section,  province,  or  region  of  llaj  daughter  and 
wife  of  Manu,  and  considered  the  mother  of  the  human  race." 

u  As  the  light  of  the  snow-capped  mountains  mingled  with  the 
azure  of  ethereal  space,  blending  with  it  in  distant  perspective,  the 
paradise  of  the  gods  appeared  to  confound  itself  with  that  of  the  first 
men  ;  and  to  express  this  vague  notion  they  formed  the  Sanskrit 
phrase  Svarga-bhoumi,  '  celestial  earth.'  "  l 

These  extracts  go  to  establish  the  various  points  :  1st.  That  the 
celestial  earth  was  associated  directly  with  Mt.  Meru.  2d.  That 
the  goddess  Ira,  or  Ida,  primitively  put  for  the  "  earth,"  was  con- 
nected likewise  with  this  sacred  mountain.  3d.  That  Ida  was  the 
reputed  mother  of  the  human  race  ;  in  which  character  she  is  to  be 
identified,  of  course,  with  the  mother  of  Eden.  There  can  be  no 
doubt,  therefore,  of  the  reference  of  this  circle  of  conceptions  to  the 
traditional  paradise.  Their  subsequent  transfer  to  the  under  world, 
termed  Hades  by  the  Greeks,  is  the  next  point  to  be  investigated ; 
and  here  I  serve  myself  with  some  lengthy  extracts  from  the  great 

1  Du  Berceau,  etc.,  pp.  22,  23,  note,  1 74,  note.  We  shall  see  that  this  "  celestial 
earth "  =  Svarga-bhoumi,  otherwise  termed  Souvarna-bhoumi,  or  "earth  of  gold," 
was  one  with  the  Aralla  of  the  cuneiform  texts,  situated,  like  Mt.  Meru,  in  the 
extreme  north.  According  to  Dr.  Oppert,  in  a  recent  treatise,  this  A ralla,  or 
Arallu.  was  also  situated  in  the  north,  and  was  conceived  "  the  earth  of  gold," 
like  the  Souvarna-bfioumi  of  the  Hindus.  Dr.  Oppert's.  language  is  as  follows  : 

"  The  Babylonian  Noah,  Xisuthrus,  was  translated  to  an  eternal  life  without 
passing  through  death  ;  other  indications  of  the  same  species  are  found  in  the 
texts  distinguishing  the  sojourn  of  the  living  from  that  of  the  dead  ;  this  last  is 
called  the  country  of  Arallu.  In  the  conception  of  the  Assyrians,  this  locality 
was  found  in  the  country  of  the  north,  the  region  of  the  disappearance  of  the 
sun.  This  country  of  Arallu  is  at  the  same  time  the  earth  of  gold  (according  to 
the  ancients  the  hyperborean  country  was  rich  in  gold),  and  it  is  very  probable 
that  the  name  of  the  lake  of  Aral  is  but  a  relic  of  this  ancient  Assyrian  name." 
(De  Vimmortalitd  de  Udme  chez  Les  Chaldeens,  p.  4.) 

The  Aralla  was  one  with  the  Mat  Nudea,  or  Hades,  of  the  cuneiform  texts, 
into  which  the  goddess  Ishtar  descends,  a  notice  of  which  will  be  given  in  the 
sequel  of  the  present  chapter.  The  conception  of  the  north  as  the  region  of  the 
disappearance  of  the  sun  is  hardly  rational.  The  true  explanation  of  it  is  that 
the  Aralla,  as  we  shall  show,  was  identified  astronomically  with  the  lower  hemi- 
sphere of  heaven,  where  the  sun  does  disappear. 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  199 

work  of  Dr.  G.  S.  Faber,  which  not  only  go  to  establish  the  fact  of 
the  transformation  in  question,  but  will  afford  other  valuable  mate- 
rials for  future  use.  The  author  proceeds :  — 

"  Such  being  the  universal  intercommunion  between  the  moon 
and  the  earth,  the  great  mother  being  alike  deemed  a  personifica- 
tion of  each,  both  these  planets  bore  the  common  name  of  Olym- 
pias,  or  Olyinpia ;  by  which  was  meant  the  world ;  for  Mount 
Olympus,  as  we  have  already  seen,  was  no  other  than  the  Indian 
Mount  Ilapu,  or  Meru,  which  is  fabled  to  be  crowned  with  the  mun- 
dane circle  of  Ha  or  Ida.  Accordingly  the  moon  was  deemed  a 
sort  of  celestial  earth,  bearing  a  close  affinity  to  this  our  nether 
world." 

"  This  will  lead  us  to  understand  the  import  of  some  very  curious 
particulars  which  Plutarch  mentions  as  being  presented  to  the 
imagination  of  Timarchus,  in  his  vision  of  the  infernal  regions. 
The  friendly  spirit,  who  acts  the  part  of  an  hierophant  (for  the 
pretended  vision  seems  evidently  to  describe  the  process  of  an  initi- 
ation), informs  him  that  Proserpine  is  in  the  moon,  and  that  the 
infernal  Mercury  or  Pluto  is  her  companion.  This  moon  is  wholly 
distinct  from  the  celestial  (astronomical)  moon ;  being  what  some 
call  a  terrestrial  heaven  or  paradise,  and  others  a  heavenly  earth. 
It  belongs  to  the  genii  or  deified  mortals,  who  tenant  the  earth ; 
and  it  is  described  as  wearing  the  semblance  of  a  floating  island. 
It  is  surrounded  with  other  islands,  which  similarly  float  on  the 
bosom  of  the  great  Stygian  abyss ;  but  it  is  loftier  than  them  all, 
and  therefore  not  equally  exposed  to  the  destructive  fury  of  the 
infernal  river.  In  this  navicular  moon  or  lunar  island  there  are 
three  principal  caverns.  The  largest  is  called  the  Sanctuary  of 
Hecate ;  and  here  the  wicked  suffer  the  punishment  due  to  their 
crimes.  The  other  two  are  rather  doors  or  outlets  than  caverns ; 
the  first  looking  towards  heaven,  the  second  towards  the  earth. 
These  serve  for  the  ingress  and  egress  of  souls ;  for  the  moon  is 
the  universal  receptacle  of  them  ;  into  her  they  enter  by  one  door, 
and  from  her  they  issue  by  the  other  door.  She  receives  and  gives, 
compounds  and  decompounds  ;  and  on  her  depend  all  the  conversions 
of  generation.  While  the  moon  thus  floats  on  the  waters  of  the 
Styx,  the  infernal  river  strives  to  invade  and  overwhelm  it.  Then 
the  souls  through  fear  break  forth  in  loud  lamentations ;  for  Pluto 
seizes  upon  many  who  happen  to  fall  off.  Some,  however,  who  are 
plunged  in  the  raging  flood  contrive,  by  dint  of  great  exertion  and 
good  swimming,  to  reach  the  shores  of  the  moon  ;  but  the  Styx, 
thundering  and  bellowing  in  a  most  dreadful  manner,  does  not 
allow  them  to  land.  Lamenting  their  fate,  they  are  thrust  headlong 
into  the  abyss,  and  are  hurried  away  to  partake  of  another  regener- 
ation." 


200  HAR-MOAD. 

"  Here,  therefore,  we  may  perceive  the  origin  of  that  singular 
intercommunion  between  the  earth,  the  moon,  a  ship,  and  a  floating 
island,  which  may  be  traced  throughout  the  whole  system  of  pagan- 
ism in  every  quarter  of  the  globe.  The  earth  was  a  greater  world  ; 
the  ark,  a  smaller  world ;  the  earth,  a  greater  ship  or  floating  island  ; 
the  ark,  a  smaller  ship  or  floating  island.  But  the  lunette  was  the 
astronomical  symbol  of  the'  ark.  Therefore  the  moon  became  at 
once  a  ship,  a  floating  island,  and  a  celestial  earth.  Hence,  what 
was  predicated  of  the  one  was  also  predicated  of  the  others  ;  and  as 
the  ark  was  a  floating  moon,  as  the  earth  was  a  ship,  and  as  the 
moon  was  a  boat  and  a  heavenly  earth  and  a  floating  island,  one 
and  the  same  goddess' was  deemed  an  equal  personification  of  them 
all ;  one  and  the  same  set  of  symbols  was  employed  equally  to  typ- 
ify them  all.  Accordingly,  the  great  mother  is  declared  to  be  at 
once  the  earth,  the  moon,  and  a  ship ;  nor  is  this  singular  inter- 
mixture of  ideas  to  be  found  only  in  a  single  country  ;  it  pervades 
the  whole  pagan  world,  and  thus  affords  an  illustrious  proof  that 
all  the  various  systems  of  Gentile  idolatry  must  have  originated 
from  some  common  source.  That  source  was  the  primeval  Baby- 
lonian apostasy."  1 

SEC.  77.  That  Babylon  was  one  of  the  great  centres  of  religious 
corruption  in  early  times  is  not  to  be  doubted;  yet  in  the  light 
of  present  knowledge,  it  would  be  impossible  to  trace  to  this 
source  exclusively  all  the  idolatrous  conceptions  and  customs  of 
antiquity.  But  Dr.  Faber's  analysis  of  some  of  these  ideas,  as  con- 
tained in  the  foregoing  extracts,  is  mostly  correct,  and  it  is  very 
able.  To  those  not  familiar  with  Asiatic  mythology,  however,  the 
above  statements  will  appear  somewhat  intricate  and  confused ; 
and  it  will  be  necessary  to  offer  some  comments  in  explanation  :  — 

1st.  It  is  a  fact  that  the  great  goddess  was  ordinarily  identified 
with  both  the  earth  and  moon  ;  and  it  was  owing  to  the  resem- 
blance of  the  lunette  to  a  ship  floating  on  the  bosom  of  the  celestial 
sea  that  the  same  goddess  was  assimilated  to  a  ship,  especially  to 
the  diluvian  ark. 

2d.  The  notion  of  a  floating  island  appears  to  have  reference  to 
the  summit  of  the  mountain  on  which  the  ark  rested,  as  it  rose 
above  the  immense  ocean  of  devastating  waters,  seeming  like  an 
island  floating  upon  its  dark  abyss.  Thus  the  ark  and  the  floating 
island  were  assimilated  to  each  other,  and  both  these  to  the  earth 
and  moon. 

1  Origin  of  Parian  Idolatry,  vol.  iii.  pp.  5,  13,  14,  21. 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  201 

3d.  The  ark  was  conceived  as  a  world,  since  during  the  deluge  it 
contained  all  that  remained  of  the  human  race  ;  and  the  earth  was 
regarded  as  a  ship,  a  floating  island,  for  the  reason  that  the  summit 
of  the  diluvian  mountain  projecting  above  the  watery  abyss  was  for 
the  time  the  entire  earth  then  visible. 

These  remarks,  it  is  believed,  will  sufficiently  explain  the  origin 
and  nature  of  the  singular  conceptions  to  which  Dr.  Faber  alludes. 
I  think  his  statements  are  substantially  correct,  and  the  elucidation 
of  them  just  offered  is  probably  the  true  one.  It  is  this  moon, 
assimilated  to  the  earth,  to  the  ark,  to  the  great  goddess,  and  to  the 
diluvian  mount,  the  latter  identified  with  the  mount  of  paradise, 
which  is  variously  termed  a  celestial  or  heavenly  earth,  a  terrestrial 
heaven,  etc.,  correspondent  to  the  Sanskrit  phrase  Svarga-bhoumi,  "a 
celestial  earth,''  applied  to  Mt.  Meru,  traditional  abode  of  the  fiist 
men.  The  most  extraordinary  circumstance  connected  with  this 
circle  of  conceptions  is  that  the  whole  has  been  transferred  to  the 
infernal  regions,  to  the  Greek  Hades.  The  sacred  mount  of  para- 
dise, regarded  as  the  cradle  or  humanity,  being  the  Gan-Eden  of 
Genesis,  has  been  demonstrated  to  have  had  an  actual  historical 
and  geographical  existence.  The  diluvian  mountain  was  identified 
with  it,  and  was  thus  not  less  historical.  To  the  same  locality  the 
celestial  earth  had  been  assimilated.  Yet  everything  has  been 
transferred  to  the  under  world,  to  the  state  of  the  dead,  and  the 
sacred  mount,  conceived  as  a  ship,  floats  on  the  bosom  of  the  Sty- 
gian abysso  I  doubt  whether  the  entire  field  of  antiquarian  re- 
searches affords  a  fact  so  remarkable  and  seemingly  so  unaccount- 
able. It  exhibits  a  widespread  and  complete  misconception,  at  a 
later  epoch,  of  traditionary  ideas  relating  to  the  first  ages  of  the 
world.  In  point  of  fact,  &  fourth  and  wholly  factitious  division  or 
region,  of  which  the  primitive  man  had  not  the  slightest  conception, 
has  been  added  to  the  cosmos;  a  circumstance  that  demands  a 
brief  yet  careful  study  in  the  present  connection. 

According  to  the  traditions  most  primitive  among  the  ancients, 
the  cosmos  or  universe  consisted  of  two  principal  divisions,  the  hea- 
ven and  the  earth.  But  equally  primitive,  if  not  more  so,  and 
extensively  prevalent,  especially  among  the  Aryans,  was  the  notion 
of  three  regions  or  divisions,  usually  called  the  "  three  worlds," 
these  being  regarded  as  heaven,  earth,  and  the  intervening  space,  or 
the  atmosphere.  The  idea  of  &  fourth  world  or  region,  as  included 


202 


HAR-MOAD. 


in  the  cosmos,  never  entered  the  mind  of  man  during  the  first  ages. 
It  is  only  at  a  later  epoch  that  the  notices  of  .mother  division  of 
the  cosmos,  of  an  under  world,  a  subterranean  region,  becomes  more 
and  more  frequent  in  the  sacred  writings  of  the  ancients.  We  sub- 
mit here  some  quotations  illustrating  the  primitive  conception.  M. 
Carre*  gives  the  following  passages  from  the  Rig-Veda:  — 

"  O  Agni !  The  three  worlds,  the  earth,  the  heaven,  and  the 
atmosphere,  are  thy  work."  By  thy  light  thou  hast  illuminated  the 
heaven  and  the  earth."  "  Of  the  three  worlds,  two  appertain  to 
the  domain  of  Savitri  (the  sun)  ;  the  third  (the  earth)  is  the  abode 
of  Yama  (god  of  the  dead)  and  the  sojourn  of  the  dead."  l 

M.  Carre*  makes  the  perfectly  correct  statement  in  a  note  as  fol- 
lows:  "The  Aryans  recognized  three  worlds,  the  heaven,  the 
earth,  and  the  intermediate  space."2  The  second  passage  cited 
above  from  the  Rig- Veda  contains  a  very  important  statement  in 
relation  to  the  point  before  us.  Yama,  to  whom  the  third  world  or 
the  earth  appertains,  was  the  reputed  first  man,  and  his  sister  Yami 
the  first  woman,  the  two  corresponding  to  Adam  and  Eve  of  Gene- 
sis. The  Persian  Yima,  the  same  personage  as  the  Hindu  Yama, 
was  traditionally  the  founder  of  paradise.3  At  the  same  time  Yama 
was  regarded  by  the  Hindus  as  god  of  the  dead,  and  as  such  the 
earth  or  the  third  world  appertained  to  him,  and  the  earth  is  ex- 
pressly represented  in  the  foregoing  passage  as  "  the  sojourn  of  the 
dead."  Notwithstanding  these  ideas  the  Aryans  held  distinctly  the 
doctrine  of  a  future  life.  Something  quite  similar  to  the  character 
of  Yama  as  god  of  the  dead  is  that  of  the  Babylonian  divinity  Hea, 
in  allusion  to  whose  wife,  Gula,  Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce  remarks :  — 

"  Gula,  4  lady  of  the  house  of  death,'  was  the  wife  of  Hea,  the 
earth,  and  so  originally  the  same  as  Nin-ki-yal,  4  lady  of  the  great 
earth,'  the  queen  of  Hades.  Nin-ki-gal  was  a  form  of  Allat  or 
Istar ;  and  the  name  Balm  (one  with  G-uhi)  is  merely  the  BoTiu 
(inn)  of  Genesis,  the  primeval  c  wasteness '  or  chaos  of  night  and 
the  under  world."  4 

Some  confusion  of  statement  appears  here,  growing  out  of  the 
anomalous  circumstance  of  which  there  is  question.  The  term 

1  V Ancien  Orient,  t.  ii.  pp.  46,  55. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  46,  note  3. 

8  Professor  Whitney,  Oriental  and  Linguistic  Studies,  p.  45. 
4  Jour.  Rib.  Arch.  Society,  London,  vol.  iii.  p.  173,  note  3. 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  203 

Nin-M-gal  means,  literally,  "  mistress  of  the  great  earth ; "  from 
which  it  is  evident  that  her  peculiar  domain  was  the  earth,  the 
third  world  or  division  of  the  cosmos  according  to  the  Aryans,  and 
not  the  fourth  region  or  world  understood  as  Hades.  Again,  Hea 
is  often  qualified  as  "  lord  of  mankind,"  at  other  times  as  "  dwell- 
ing in  the  great  deep ;  "  while  Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce  in  the  above  note 
assimilates  him  to  the  " earth;"  yet  he  answers  in  Babylonian 
mythology  to  the  infernal  Mercury  or  Pluto,  god  of  the  dead. 
Finally,  Bahu,  the  Bohu,  or  chaos  of  Genesis,  assimilated  to  Gula 
by  Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce,  although  u  lady  of  the  house  of  death,"  ap- 
pertains strictly  to  the  earth,  for,  according  to  the  Mosaic  text,  it 
was  the  earth  which  was  "  without  form  and  void,"  etc.  Tiamat 
also,  in  the  Babylonian  account  of  creation,  who  represents  the 
chaos,  has  her  domain  ilpon  the  earth.  In  all  the  cosmogonies  the 
earth  constitutes  the  very  lowest  region  known  and  recognized. 
No  fourth  world  is  ever  mentioned.  Thus,  what  are  termed  the 
"  infernal  regions "  by  Dr.  Faber,  denoted  by  the  Greek  word 
Hades,  must  be  regarded  as  a  later  conception,  to  which  primeval 
tradition  makes  no  allusion.  This  was  literally  a  fourth  and  wholly 
imaginary  division,  that  had  been  added  to  the  cosmos  of  primitive 
times. 

SEC.  78.  Our  investigations  thus  far  have  sufficiently  established 
the  fact  that  the  traditional  mount  of  paradise  had  been  conceived 
as  a  terrestrial  heaven,  or  a  celestial  earth  ;  and  that  this,  together 
with  the  sacred  mount  itself,  under  the  form  of  a  floating  island, 
ship,  or  ark,  had  been  transferred  at  a  later  period  to  an  under 
world,  answering  to  the  Greek  Hades,  constituting  thus  a  fourth 
division  of  the  cosmos  entirely  unknown  to  primitive  tradition,  and 
wholly  inconsistent  with  the  actual  historical  and  geographical  char- 
acter of  the  Gan-Eden  of  Genesis,  as  verified  in  the  last  chapter. 
This  anomalous  circumstance  in  the  historical  development  of 
religious  ideas  is  without  parallel,  and  it  challenges  an  attempt  on 
our  part  at  some  rational  explanation  of  it,  which  will  be  made  in 
the  sequel  of  this  chapter.  But  as  preparatory  to  this,  it  is  neces- 
sary for  us  to  study  more  thoroughly  the  conception  of  the  so-called 
celestial  earth,  or  terrestrial  heaven ;  and  such  is  the  labor  upon 
which  we  now  enter.  In  this  study,  the  cuneiform  texts  will  be 
found,  I  think,  to  afford  us  the  most  reliable  and  adequate  informa- 
tion. 


204 


HAR-MOAD. 


There  are  two  cuneiform  phrases  very  frequently  put  in  the  rela- 
tion of  opposition  to  each  other  in  the  texts,  although  their  employ- 
ment separately  is  perfectly  legitimate  and  even  more  frequent. 
One  of  these  is  the  Accadian  An-e,  the  Assyrian  reading  of  the 
same  characters  being  Il-same.  This  is  the  ordinary  expression  for 
"  heaven,"  considered  as  a  divinity.  The  literal  sense  of  the  Ac- 
cadian phrase  is  heaven  +  vault,  or  house,  hence  the  "  heavenly 
house."  The  other  locution  to  which  I  refer  is  the  Accadian  An-ki, 
Assyrian  Il-irziti.  The  sense  attached  is  "the  earth"  considered 
as  a  divinity  or  goddess.  Assyriologues  are  probably  correct  in 
referring  the  phrase  to  the  earth  goddess.  But  An-ki  means  liter- 
ally heaven  +  earth  ;  that  is,  "  celestial  or  heavenly  earth."  Allu- 
sion has  been  made  to  this  expression  once  before,  but  it  is  neces- 
sary to  bestow  upon  it  now  a  more  particular  attention,  since  it 
evidently  answers  in  the  cuneiform  texts  to  the  Sanskrit  phrase, 
Svarga-bhoumi,  or  "  celestial  earth,"  being  the  precise  topic  of  our 
present  research.  When  not  preceded  by  the  determinative  An, 
the  element  Ki  has  the  sense  of  "  place,  ground,  earth,"  ordinarily 
put  for  the  geographical  earth.  It  constitutes  also  the  determina- 
tive of  place,  district,  city,  etc.,  as  in  Bar-sip-ki  for  Borsippa,  Bab- 
el-lei for  Babylon.  Obviously,  then,  there  is  a  marked  difference  in 
sense  between  Ki  and  An-ki,  although  cuneiform  scholars  do  not 
usually  make  any  distinction  in  practice.  Mr.  Norris  has  very  hap- 
pily expressed  the  notion  to  be  attached  to  An-ki  as  follows :  "  The 
sphere;  the  astronomical  earth,  distinguished  from  the  geographical 
earth  by  the  determinative  (J./1)."1  This  appears  to  me  exactly 
the  fundamental  idea,  but  it  does  not  by  any  means  complete  the 
conception  involved.  An  astronomical  earth  could  be  no  other 
than  a  terrestrial  field  divided  off  according  to  the  cardinal  regions, 
like  the  augurial  temple  for  example,  and  put  in  direct  relation  to 
a  correspondent  celestial  space.  But  there  are  two  cuneiform  pas- 
sages, one  of  which  has  been  already  noticed,  that  go  to  fix  pre- 
cisely the  traditionary  import  of  the  Accadian  An-ki.  The  tower 
of  Borsippa  is  termed  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  u  the  temple  of  the 
seven  lights  of  An-ki" 2  The  tower  of  Babylon  is  styled  by  the 
same  monarch,  "  the  temple  of  the  foundation  of  An-ki." 3  These 

1  Assyr.  Dictionary,  iii.  p.  939. 

2  Bit  urme  7  il-irzili  (An-ki),  ibid. 

3  Bit  temin  il-irziti  (An-ki),  ibid. 


THE   CELESTIAL  EARTH.  205 

temple  structures  were  regarded  as  primitive  in  the  valley  of  the 
Euphrates,  being  erected  soon  after  the  Cushite  emigration  from 
the  east  to  the  land  of  Shinar.  They  were,  in  fact,  as  we  have 
seen,  designed  expressly  as  imitations  of  the  diluvian  mount,  identi- 
fied with  that  of  paradise.  The  phrase  An-ki,  therefore,  has  a 
direct  reference  to  this  sacred  mountain,  conceived  as  the  abode  of 
primeval  humanity.  Such  being  the  case,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  we  ought  to  connect  with  the  Accadian  An-ki  precisely  the 
same  notion  as  involved  in  the  Sanskrit  expression  Svarga-bhoumi, 
"  celestial  earth,"  applied  to  the  same  traditional  locality.  The 
particular  heaven  and  earth  united  by  Mt.  Meru  are  thus  expressly 
denoted  by  the  two  elements  of  the  Accadian,  as  well  as  by  those 
of  the  Sanskrit  expression,  namely,  heaven  +  earth,  or  "  heavenly 
earth." 

Again,  the  Vedic  goddess  lira,  or  Ida,  a  name  denoting  pri- 
marily the  "  earth,"  was  associated  by  the  Hindus  with  their  Meru, 
and  this  affords  another  point  of  connection  with  the  Babylonian 
tradition.  As  before  stated,  the  cuneiform  expression  An-ki  is  often 
interpreted  by  Assyriologues  in  special  reference  to  the  earth  god- 
dess, with  which  Is-tar,  the  Babylonian  Venus,  is  frequently  assimi- 
lated. M.  Obry  conjectures  that  the  Vedic  Ida  may  have  some 
connection  with  the  Mt.  Ida,  "  mountain  of  the  hand,"  of  Phrygia, 
Crete,  etc.  Venus  was  doubtless  under  some  form  associated  with 
the  Mt.  Idas  of  antiquity,  and  there  is  much  reason  for  the  supposi- 
tion that  the  primitive  Mt.  Ida  was  Mt.  Meru  itself.  The  follow- 
ing distich,  as  rendered  by  Mr.  Fox  Talbot,  shows  that  Is-tar  was 
associated  with  such  sacred  localities :  — 

"But  Ishtar  smiles  upon  him  with  a  placid  smile, 
And  comes  down  from  her  mountain,  unvisited  of  men." 1 

Having  traced  the  connection  of  An-ki,  considered  as  a  celestial 
earth,  with  the  sacred  mountain  of  the  north  and  east,  it  is  proba- 
ble that  the  same  phrase  as  denoting  the  earth  goddess,  assimilated 
to  Is-tar,  had  a  like  reference ;  and  we  may  thus  identify  the  moun- 
tain of  Is-tar  with  that  to  which  the  Vedic  Ida  appertained.  In 
either  case,  this  is  probably  the  great  mother,  the  mother  of  Eden, 
in  fact,  whose  immediate  relation  to  the  celestial  earth  will  be 
abundantly  established  as  we  proceed,  and  may  indeed  be  presup- 
posed from  the  facts  already  before  us. 

1  Vid.  Trans.  Bib.  ArcJi,  So.,  ii.  p.  31. 


206 


HAR-MOAD. 


Finally,  the  seven  stars  *of  the  chariot,  traditionally  associated 
with  Meru  of  the  Hindus,  the  Eden  of  Genesis,  and  the  Har-Moad 
of  Isaiah,  have  been  identified  with  the  "stars  of  El,"  to  which  the 
prophet  alludes.  The  Hebrew  El  is  the  same  as  the  cuneiform  11 
or  //M,  and  Mr.  Norris  cites  a  certain  text  which  connects  this 
divine  personage  with  the  celestial  earth,  thus :  "  The  god  II,  the 
ornament  of  the  celestial  earth."  l  We  should  compare  this  quali- 
fication of  the  god  II  with  that  applied  to  the  tower  of  Babylon 
or  "  gate  of  II,"  "  the  temple  of  the  foundation  of  the  celestial 
earth  ; "  also  to  the  tower  of  Borsippa,  "  temple  of  the  seven 
lights  of  the  celestial  earth  ; "  evidently  referring  to  the  seven  stars 
of  El,  or  II,  associated  with  the  sacred  mountain.  Thus,  it  is  ob- 
vious from  the  data  now  before  us  that  the  Accadian  An-ki, 
whether  as  a  celestial  earth,  as  the  mother  goddess,  or  as  associated 
with  the  god  II,  Hebrew  El,  is  to  be  referred  primarily  and  tradi- 
tionally to  the  Kharsak-kurra,  "  mountain  of  the  world,"  identified 
with  the  Gan-Eden  of  Genesis.  The  pyramidal  temples  were  in 
a  certain  sense  material  expressions  of  this  heavenly  or  celestial 
earth,  at  the  same  time  that  they  were  artificial  reproductions  of 
the  mount  of  paradise,  to  which  these  various  conceptions  origi- 
nally appertained.  The  antiquity  of  these  notions  also  must  have 
been  very  great,  for  the  earliest  temple  structures  in  the  Euphrates 
valley  had  a  direct  reference  to  them  as  their  material  embodi- 
ment. 

SEC.  79.  Mr.  Norris,  as  already  cited,  connects  with  the  Accadian 
An-ki  the  notion  of  the  sphere,  and  of  an  astronomical  earth.  Both 
are  involved  strictly  in  the  idea  of  a  celestial  earth,  which  is  liter- 
ally an  astronomical  earth.  Nevertheless,  the  special  relation  of 
this  phrase  to  the  Babylonian  sphere,  which,  as  has  been  shown, 
was  taken  as  a  symbol  of  the  cosmos,  needs  some  further  elucida- 
tion. A  certain  bilingual  text  affords  us  some  very  valuable  equa- 
tions for  our  present  purpose,  among  which  I  select  the  following : 
1st.  An  —  the  god  Ann.  2d.  An  —  the  goddess  Turn,  or  Anatu. 
3d.  An-ki  =  the  god  Anu  and  the  goddess  Turn.2  I  suppose  it  is 
the  Accadian  Turn  which  Mr.  George  Smith  reads  Anatu,  wife  of 
Anu?  But  formerly  he  read  the  sa.ne  character  Anunit,  I  believe, 

1  Assyr.  Die.,  iii.  p.  940  :  il  II  Supar  il-irziti  (An-ki). 

2  3d  Rawl.  PI.  69,  No.  1,  Obs.  11.  1-3.     Cf.  2<1  Rawl.  PI.  54,  No.  3,  Obs.  11.  2,  3. 
8  Chald.  Acct,  of  Genesis,  pp.  54,  55, 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  207 

which  is  possibly  the  same  as  Anatu,  though  this  appears  not  to 
have  been  so  understood  heretofore.1  The  Accadian  Turn  is  the  old 
Hamite  or  Cushite  name  of  a  deity  assimilated  to  the  lower  hemi- 
sphere of  heaven,  a  personage  which  appears  as  a  goddess  in  the 
cuneiform  texts,  but  as  a  male  divinity  in  the  hieroglyphic  inscrip- 
tions of  Egypt.  They  are  the  same  astro-mythological  character, 
as  will  appear  hereafter,  and  since  they  are  such  I  prefer  the  read- 
ing Turn  to  that  of  any  other ;  but  that  the  goddess  is  the  wife  of 
Ann  is  not  to  be  overlooked.  Mr.  Smith's  remarks  relative  to  these 
two  divinities,  a  portion  of  which  have  been  before  cited,  are  quite 
important  to  us  here,  and  will  be  reproduced  :  — 

"  He  (Ann)  represents  the  universe  as  the  upper  and  lower 
regions,  and  when  these  were  divided,  the  upper  region,  or  heaven, 
was  called  Anu,  while  the  lower  region,  or  earth,  was  called  Anatu." 
"  Anatu,  the  wife  or  consort  of  Ann,  is  generally  only  a  female 
form  of  Anu,  but  is  sometimes  contrasted  with  him  ;  thus,  when 
Anu  represents  height  and  heaven,  Anatu  represents  depth  and 
earth  ;  she  is  also  lady  of  darkness,  the  mother  of  the  god  Hea,  the 
mother  producing  heaven  and  earth."  2 

But  both  Anu  and  Turn  are  equated  to  An-ki,  that  is,  to  heaven 
+  earth,  which  proves  Mr.  Smith's  remarks  upon  their  respective 
characters  to  be  correct.  They  must  equally  represent  the  upper 
and  lower  hemispheres  of  heaven,  since  each  is  equated  to  the  Ac- 
cadian An,  "  heaven,  god,"  etc.  The  term  An  in  this  case  must  be 
taken  in  the  sense  of  heaven.  Thus,  Anu  is  heaven,  and  Anatu, 
or  Turn,  is  heaven  ;  but  these  are  the  two  halves  of  the  sphere 
placed  in  opposition  to  each  other,  like  the  Qaq-qa-du  and  As-ru, 
symbolized  by  the  two  orders  of  temples,  the  Bit-mat  and  the  Bit- 
khi-ra,  heretofore  explained  to  us  by  M.  Lenormant.  The  apparent 
contradiction  in  conceiving  one  and  the  same  goddess  to  represent 
the  earth  at  one  time,  and  the  inferior  hemisphere  of  heaven  at 
another,  is  due  to  the  fact  already  insisted  upon  by  us  that  the 
Babylonians  assimilated  the  lower  half  of  the  sphere  to  the  earth. 
I  propose  soon  to  offer  still  further  proof  of  the  fact  of  such  as- 
similation. But  that  which  is  to  be  particularly  noticed  here  is 
the  exact  equivalence  of  the  two  cuneiform  phrases,  namely,  An-ki, 
heaven  +  earth,  considered  as  a  "  celestial  earth,"  and  Anu  and 

1  Vid.  Assyr.  Discoveries,  p.  173,  1.  39. 

2  Chald.  Acct.  of  Genesis,  pp.  54,  55. 


208 


HAR-MOAD. 


Turn,  heaven  4-  earth,  regarded  as  mythological  or  astro-mytholo- 
gical characters,  personifying  heaven  and  earth.  I  have  shown  that 
An-ki  related  especially  to  the  sacred  mount,  uniting  a  particular 
celestial  and  terrestrial  space,  of  which  the  pyramidal  temple  was 
an  imitation,  and  to  which  was  applied  the  Sanskrit  phrase  Svarga- 
bhoumi,  "  celestial  earth."  It  will  be  easy  to  show  now  that  the 
primary  reference  of  Anu  and  Turn,  as  astro-religious  representa- 
tions of  heaven  and  earth,  was  also  to  the  traditional  "  mountain  of 
the  world."  We  note,  first,  the  following  passage  from  Mr.  George 
Smith  :  — 

"The  heaven  or  region  of  the  blessed  was  called  Samu,  and  was 
divided  into  various  sub-regions  bearing  different  names,  the  high- 
est being  the  c  Heaven  of  Ann,'  the  supreme  celestial  god."  1 

Thus,  the  heaven  which  Anu  especially  represents  is  not  the  en- 
tire expanse  of  the  sky,  but  the  highest  central  region  ;  that  is  to 
say,  the  region  of  the  polar  star,  one  with  the  Su-Meru  of  the  Hin- 
dus. This  and  no  other,  as  is  well  known  to  Assyriologues,  is  the 
"  heaven  of  Anu,"  usually  so  designated  in  the  texts.  But  another 
proof  comes  readily  to  our  hand  here.  The  seven  stars  called  Sabi, 
or  "  Seven,"  in  the  inscriptions,  evidently  those  of  the  chariot,  and 
one  with  the  "  stars  of  El,"  were  directly  associated  with  Anu,  as 
will  appear  from  the  words  of  M.  Lenormant  following :  — 

"  Perhaps  it  is  necessary  here  to  note  the  facts  furnished  by  a 
tablet  of  the  British  Museum  not  yet  edited,  which  seems,  in  effect, 
to  identify  Anu  with  a  god  named  Sabi.  This  name,  which  signi- 
fies *  seven,'  is  written  with  the  numeral  7,  followed  by  the  pho- 
netic compliment  bi.  The  god  Sabi  is  then  the  4god  seven,'  or  per- 
haps more  exactly  the  4  god  of  the  seven,'  the  god  who  presides 
over  the  group  of  seven  other  divinities,  and  unites  them.  This  is 
only  a  different  mode  of  expressing  the  notion  involved  in  the  name 
Ashmunu  or  Eshmun  (the  eighth).  Thus,  Anu  identified  with  Sabi 
is  precisely  Anu  in  relation  to  the  group  of  seven  planets,  united  in 
the  cultus  of  the  tower  of  Borsippa."  "  In  all  cases,  we  compre- 
hend now  how  the  myth  of  the  Cabiri  born  from  the  hand  of  Anu 
is  applied  to  the  pyramid  in  stages  at  Borsippa,  which  is  the  '  tem- 
ple of  the  seven  lights,'  and  at  the  same  time  the  4  temple  of  the 
divine  hand.'  "  2 

We  connect  and  confirm  here  so  many  points  at  once  that  it  is 
necessary  to  particularize  them.     1st.  The  tower  of   Borsippa  is 
1  Assyr.  Discoveries,  p.  221.  2  Frag,  de  Bcrose,  pp.  389,  390. 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  209 

called  Bit-Zida,  "  temple  of  the  right  hand  ;  "  and  the  myth  of  the 
Cabiri  born  from  the  hand,  among  whom  the  Phoenician  Eshmun 
was  reckoned  "  the  eighth,"  was  shown  to  have  been  connected  with 
this  very  tower,  in  our  third  chapter.  2d.  Under  the  name  Sabi, 
"  seven,"  M.  Lenormant  would  identify  Anu,  who  had  his  sanctuary 
in  the  basement  of  the  tower  of  Borsippa,  with  the  Cabirus  called 
Eshmun,  or  "the  eighth,"  in  relation  to  the  other  seven.  8d.  But 
M.  Lenormant  sees  here  only  a  reference  to  the  seven  planets; 
while  it  is  obvious  to  me  that  the  primary  allusion  is  to  the  seven 
stars  of  the  chariot,  associated  with  Mt.  Meru.  The  reasons  are 
manifold  in  proof  of  it.  (a)  The  tower  of  Borsippa  was  an  ex- 
press imitation  of  the  sacred  mount.  (6)  Eshmun,  Ann,  like  the 
Haranite  Shemal,  represented  the  highest  celestial  region,  which 
was  uthe  eighth,"  and  was  identical  with  the  Su-Meru  of  the  Hin- 
dus, (tf)  The  stars  of  El,  in  relation  to  which  Elyon  represented 
the  Highest,  were  connected  traditionally  with  the  same  terrestrial 
and  celestial  localities.  4th.  We  have  another  proof  here  that  the 
primitive  Mt.  Ida  was  Mt.  Meru,  to  which  the  Vedic  Ida  apper- 
tained, since  it  has  been  shown  that  the  pyramid  of  Borsippa,  imi- 
tation of  the  sacred  mount,  was  otherwise  regarded  as  a  Mt.  Ida,  or 
mountain  of  the  hand.  5th.  The  tower  of  Borsippa,  besides  the 
title  of  "temple  of  the  right  hand,"  was  especially  called  the  "  tem- 
ple of  the  seven  lights  of  An-ki"  or  "  the  celestial  earth,"  which 
was  certainly  connected  with  Mt.  Meru. 

SEC.  80.  We  return  now  to  the  consideration  of  the  identity  of 
An-ki  with  Anu  and  Turn,  according  to  the  bilingual  texts  already 
cited.  The  first  element  An  answers  here  to  Anu,  and  the  second 
element  Ki  to  Turn,  or  Anatu.  We  see  here  that  the  reference  is  to 
a  particular  heaven,  the  so-called  "heaven  of  Anu,"' and"  not  to 
celestial  space  in  general ;  another  proof  that  the  eight-rayed  star, 
constituting  the  hieratic  symbol  of  An,  related  to  the  rotating  cen- 
tre of  the  superior  heavens,  and  was  no  mere  hieroglyph  of  a  star. 
This  was  the  "  heaven  "  par  excellence,  associated  with  the  mount 
of  paradise.  Anatu,  or  Turn,  consequently,  was  not  put  for  the 
earth  in  general,  but  for  the  particular  earth  related  definitely  to 
the  "heaven  of  Anu,"  that  is  to  say,  the  terrestrial  paradise.  But 
the  traditional  paradise  had  been  transferred  to  the  infernal  re- 
gions ;  and  Mr.  Smith's  language  will  afford  evidence  that  such  had 
been  the  case  even  among  the  Babylonians.  After  alluding  to  the 


210 


HAR-MOAD. 


divisions  of  heaven,  of  which  the  highest  was  the  "  heaven  of  Ann," 
in  the  passage  last  cited  from  this  author,  the  heaven  thus  desig- 
nated being  regarded  as  the  abode  of  the  blest,  he  adds  the  follow- 
ing :  "  Hell,  on  the  other  hand,  was  generally  called  Mat-nude,  or 
Aralli,  but  has  various  other  titles  "  (op.  cit.~).  Mr.  Smith  gives  a 
long  and  graphic  description  of  these  regions,  which  I  introduce. 
First,  however,  I  wish  to  show  that  Mat-nude,  or  Aralli,  termed 
u  hell,"  by  the  author,  and  obviously  one  with  the  Greek  Hades, 
designates  precisely  the  region  put  in  opposition  to  the  "  heaven  of 
Anu,"  represented  by  the  goddess  Turn,  wife  of  Ann.  We  have 
three  bilingual  phrases  which  go  to  establish  the  identity  here 
claimed,  and  that  in  the  clearest  manner.  They  are  as  follows  : 1  — 

A-ra-li  =  A-ral-li. 

Bit-mat-bat        =  A-ral-li. 

(  U-ru-gal)  turn  =  A-ral-li. 

In  the  first  equation,  the  Accadian  A-ra-li  is  explained  by  the 
Assyrian  form  of  the  same  word,  or  A-ral-li.  In  the  second,  the 
Accadian  Bit-mat-bat,  or  properly  E-kur-bat,  is  equated  to  the  same 
Assyrian  expression.  Finally,  the  Accadian  Turn,  with  the  spe- 
cial Assyrian  reading  of  U-ru-gal  in  this  instance,  is  also  explained 
by  Aralli;  which  Mr.  Smith  assumes  as  only  another  name  for 
Mat-nude,  the  infernal  regions,  Hades  of  the  Greeks.  The  equation 
of  Turn,  in  the  bilingual  phrase  just  quoted,  to  Aralli,  only  another 
name  for  Mat-nude,  or  Hades,  proves  the  assimilation  of  Turn,  or 
Anatu,  wife  of  Anu,  and  otherwise  put  for  the  "  earth,"  to  the 
lower  hemisphere,  or  under  world,  to  which  Ishtar  descends.  I 
reproduce  now  in  full  Mr.  Smith's  description  of  the  two  regions 
respectively  of  Anu  and  Turn:  — 

"  The  abodes  of  the  dead  were  supposed  to  consist  of  two  regions, 
one  in  the  sky,  presided  over  by  Anu  the  god  of  heaven  and  Bel 
the  god  of  the  earth,  and  the  other  beneath  the  world,  presided  over 
by  Hea  the  god  of  the  ocean  and  infernal  regions.  In  the  upper 
regions,  or  heaven,  were  the  abodes  of  the  blessed  ;  there  the  de- 
parted wore  crowns,  they  drank  beautiful  waters,  and  consorted  with 
the  gods  ;  but  the  notions  of  glory  and  honor  at  that  day  come  out 
in  the  description  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  happy  region  ;  they  are 
the  kings  and  conquerors  of  the  earth,  the  diviners  and  priests  and 
great  men,  in  fact,  the  strong  and  successful  among  mankind.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  description  of  the  infernal  regions  is  most  vivid 

1  Vid.  2d  Rawl.,  PI.  30,  Revs.  11.  11-13. 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  211 

and  powerful,  and  is  almost  the  same  as  that  in  the  splendid  inscrip- 
tion of  the  descent  of  Ishtar  into  Hades,  where  we  read  :  — 
"  (1)   To  Hades  the  land  of  my  knowledge ; 

(2)  Ishtar,  daughter  of  Sin,  her  ear  inclined ; 

(3)  Inclined  the  daughter  of  Sin  her  ear ; 

(4)  To  the  house  of  the  departed,  the  seat  of  the  god  Iskalla ; 

(5)  To  the  house  from  within  which  is  no  exit; 

(6)  To  the  road  the  course  of  which  never  returns ; 

(7)  To  the  place  within  which  they  long  for  light; 

(8)  The  place  where  dust  is  their  nourishment,  and  their  food 
mud ; 

(9)  Light  is  never  seen,  in  darkness  they  dwell ; 

(10)  Its  chiefs  also,  like  birds,  are  clothed  with  wings ; 

(11)  Over  the  door  and  its  bolts  is  scattered  dust. 

"  This  dark  region,  where  the  inhabitants  in  their  hunger  devour 
filth,  and  thirst  for  light,  is  guarded  by  seven  gates,  and  surrounded 
by  the  waters  of  death ;  it  is  the  home  of  the  weak  and  conquered 
ones,  of  wives  who  stray  from  their  husbands,  and  men  who  abandon 
their  wives,  and  disobedient  children.  These  are  represented  as 
weeping  in  misery  and  corruption  in  their  dark  and  eternal  prison- 
house,  '  the  place  from  which  there  is  no  return.' 

"  By  the  power  of  Hea,  who  here  corresponds  to  Pluto,  the  lord 
of  Hades,  the  -ghost  of  Heabani  'was  delivered  from  this  hell,  and, 
rising  out  of  the  earth,  soars  up  to  heaven.  These  religious  ideas 
are  remarkable  on  account  of  their  close  similarity  to  those  of  later 
religions  and  subsequent  races,  and  their  importance  is  increased  by 
their  antiquity,  as  at  the  latest  they  date  more  than  two  thousand 
years  before  the  Christian  era,"  l 

Then  follows  the  reference  to  the  "heaven  of  Anu"  on  one 
hand,  and  to  Mat-nude  or  Aralli,  regarded  as  Hades,  on  the  other, 
in  language  already  quoted  from  the  author.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  foregoing  exposition  of  religious  ideas,  prevailing  in 
the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  two  thousand  years  B.  c.,  is  correct  and 
faithful.  Mr.  Fox  Talbot,  in  several  learned  papers  published  in 
the  "  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,"  London, 
already-  cited  in  these  pages,  has  fully  confirmed  Mr.  Smith's  state- 
ments above  by  evidences  drawn  from  the  legend  of  Ishtar's  descent 
into  Hades,  and  from  other  sources.  But  the  religion  of  Babylon 
was  predominantly  astral,  as  all  Orientalists  are  aware,  and  an  astro- 
nomical element  is  undoubtedly  fundamental  in  all  these  concep- 
tions as  exposed  by  Mr.  Smith.  The  descent  of  Ishtar  into  Hades  is 

1  Assyr.  Die.  pp.  220,  221. 


212 


HAR-MOAD. 


really  a  descent  into  the  inferior  heaven,  to  meet  her  beloved  Adonis, 
or  the  sun-god,  who  has  met  with  a  violent  death,  and  is  now  in  the 
lower  hemisphere.  Ishtar  is  delivered  from  Hades,  or  Mat-nude,  by 
Hea  himself,  just  as  Heabani  was,  only  in  a  different  manner.  But 
while  the  astronomical  element  referred  to  was  at  the  base  of,  and 
really  primitive  in,  these  religious  conceptions,  it  had  become  wholly 
misconceived  and  perverted.  The  absolutely  primary  reference 
had  been  to  the  mount  of  paradise,  of  which,  as  shown  in  a  previ- 
ous chapter,  the  two  halves  of  the  celestial  sphere  were  taken  as 
symbols,  the  upper  being  put  for  the  celestial  paradise,  the  abode 
of  the  great  divinities,  of  whom  Anu  was  chief,  and  the  lower  half 
for  the  terrestrial  paradise,  to  which  Turn  or  Anatu,  as  wife  of 
Anu,  ought  to  appertain  as  great  mother.  But  the  terrestrial  para- 
dise, symbolized  by  the  lower  half  of  the  sphere,  had  been  trans- 
ferred to  a  fourth  world,  to  the  infernal  regions,  to  the  Greek 
Hades,  as  previously  shown  in  the  extracts  from  Dr.  Faber,  and  as 
evinced  still  more  plainly  in  the  foregoing  quotations  from  Mr. 
Smith.  Here  is  evidently  a  terrible  confusion  of  ideas,  a  manifest 
misinterpretation  of  primitive  doctrines,  a  network  of  inconsisten- 
cies, from  which  it  is  necessary  to  work  ourselves  out,  and  explain 
the  causes  which  have  led  to  it. 

SEC.  81.  To  this  end,  it  is  advisable  to  recapitulate  briefly  here, 
as  an  aid  to  the  memory,  the  principal  points  that  have  been  estab- 
lished in  the  few  last  sections. 

1st.  The  primary  reference  of  An-ki,  conceived  as  a  heavenly  or 
celestial  earth,  was  to  the  traditional  mount  of  paradise,  uniting  a 
particular  heaven  and  earth,  to  which  primeval  tradition  especially 
pertained.  The  proof  of  this  reference  is :  (a)  That  the  two 
pyramidal  temples,  the  most  ancient  and  typical  representations  of 
the  paradisiacal  mountain,  were  styled,  one,  "  the  temple  of  the 
foundation  of  (An-ki)  the  celestial  earth ;  "  the  other,  "  the  tem- 
ple of  the  seven  lights  of  (An-ki)  the  celestial  earth."  (6)  The 
obvious  connection  of  these  seven  lights  with  the  seven  stars  of  the 
chariot,  or  great  Dipper,  with  which  also  the  seven  planets  had  been 
united  in  the  cultus  of  different  peoples,  (c)  The  exact  agreement 
in  the  meaning  of  An-ki  with  the  Sanskrit  Svarga-^houmi,  or  "  celes- 
tial earth,"  definitely  applied  to  the  sacred  mount,  and  proving  that 
such  notions  were  ordinarily  attached  to  it. 

2d.  The  exact  equivalence  of  An-ki  in  such  original  reference  to 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  213 

the  mythological  titles  Ann  and  Turn.  This  is  shown:  (a)  By 
their  equation  to  each  other  in  the  bilingual  text  cited.  (£)  By 
the  fact  that  Anu  represents  the  highest  and  central  region  of  the 
heavens,  correspondent  to  the  Su-Meru  of  the  Hindus,  and  viewed 
as  the  original  seat  of  the  gods,  as  in  fact  the  celestial  paradise. 
The  fact  that  Turn  or  Anatu,  as  wife  of  Anu,  is  put  in  opposition  to 
him,  representing  the  lower  region,  the  earth,  proves  her  primitive 
assimilation  to  the  terrestrial  paradise,  united  to  the  "  heaven  of 
Anu  "  by  means  of  the  sacred  mountain  itself.  (<?)  By  the  other 
title  of  Anu,  or  Sabi,  by  which  he  is  assimilated  to  Eshmun,  "  the 
eighth,"  also  put  for  the  highest  heaven,  and  obviously  termed  "  the 
eighth  "  in  relation  to  the  seven  stars  of  the  chariot. 

3d.  The  identity  of  the  region  denoted  by  the  title  Turn  with 
the  Aralli,  the  Mat-nude,  conceived  as  the  infernal  abode,  like  the 
Hades  of  the  Greeks.  This  is  proved:  (a)  By  the  cuneiform 
phrase  that  explains  the  Accadian  sign  Turn  by  the  Assyrian  Aralli. 
(5)  By  the  fact  that  the  term  Aralli,  as  proved  by  a  certain  text 
cited  and  explained  by  M.  Lenormant,  whose  language  has  been 
previously  introduced,  related  to  a  traditional  region,  "the  Aralli 
of  the  east,"  put  in  direct  relation  to  the  Bit-kharris,  or  palace  of 
the  gods,  identified  with  the  Su-Meru  of  the  Hindus,  consequently 
with  the  "  heaven  of  Anu ; "  that  is  to  say,  with  the  rotating  cen- 
tre of  the  superior  heavens. 

4th.  All  goes  to  show  that  at  Babylon,  as  well  as  by  the  authori- 
ties referred  to  by  Dr.  Faber,  the  terrestrial  paradise  as  a  celestial 
earth  had  been  transferred  to  the  Greek  Hades.  Some  confusion 
will  arise  here  in  the  absence  of  an  explanation.  Anu  represents 
originally  the  upper  and  lower  regions,  as  already  stated  by  "Mr. 
Smith.  So  An-Jci  primarily  includes  the  celestial  and  terrestrial 
space,  united  by  the  sacred  mount ;  that  is,  the  heaven  and  earth  of 
the  original  cosmos.  But  when  the  two  regions  were  separated, 
Anu  was  put  for  the  upper,  and  Anatu  or  Turn  for  the  lower. 
Thus,  heaven  is  always  male,  and  earth  uniformly  female.  On  the 
same  principle,  An-Jci,  as  female,  came  to  represent  exclusively  the 
divine  earth,  put  in  opposition  to  An-e,  Assyrian  ll-same,  or  divi- 
nized heaven.  The  texts  often  place  the  two  in  contrast,  just  as 
Anu  and  Turn  are  so  conceived.  Thus,  An-Jci  came  to  denote  ex- 
clusively the  terrestrial  paradise,  regarded  as  a  "  celestial  earth," 
though  the  notion  of  a  particular  heaven  united  with  it  was  always 


214 


HAR-MOAD. 


involved,  and  was  indeed  pfimary.  It  is,  then,  this  particular  celes- 
tial earth  as  distinguished  from  the  heaven  of  Anu,  from  the  para- 
dise of  the  gods,  that  was  transferred  to  the  infernal  regions  repre- 
sented by  the  Greek  Hades. 

It  will  be  better  here  to  offer  a  concise  statement  of  my  theory 
as  to  the  causes  which  led  to  this  transfer,  this  singular  perversion 
of  primitive  doctrines,  so  that  the  reader  will  be  able  to  occupy  the 
same  standpoint  as  myself  in  relation  to  the  evidences  which  have 
been  and  are  to  be  introduced.  Such  a  statement  can  be  made  now 
to  advantage,  whereas  before  it  would  have  loaded  the  memory 
with  too  many  important  ideas,  all  of  them  somewhat  complicated, 
at  the  starting-point. 

1st.  It  has  been  shown  in  a  previous  chapter  that  the  Babylonian 
sphere  had  been  taken  as  a  symbol  of  the  cosmos.  The  two  divi- 
sions, the  upper  and  lower  hemispheres,  represented  respectively  the 
two  chief  divisions  of  the  cosmos,  namely,  heaven  and  earth,  the 
upper  portion  being  put  for  heaven,  and  the  lower  for  the  earth. 
In  this  way,  the  zodiacal  temple,  with  its  main  line  of  separation 
drawn  through  the  sign  Aries,  denoted  by  the  Accadian  Sara,  cor- 
responded precisely  to  the  Hebrew  tabernacle,  with  its  two  apart- 
ments separated  by  a  vail.  The  term  Bar  a  equals  the  Assyrian 
Pa-rak-ku,  which  Dr.  Delitzsch,  heretofore  cited,  compares  with  the 
Hebrew  Pa-roJ&th,  denoting  the  vail  of  the  tabernacle. 

2d.  But  the  original  cosmos,  that  to  which  in  point  of  fact  the 
earliest  traditions  referred,  consisted  of  the  particular  heaven  and 
earth  known  to  the  first  men,  and  which  had  been  conceived,  the 
one  as  the  celestial  paradise,  especial  seat  of  the  divine  powers, 
the  other  as  a  terrestrial  paradise,  happy  abode  of  primeval  human- 
ity. .  These  two  abodes,  therefore,  constituting  the  original  cosmos, 
were  symbolized  by  the  two  divisions  of  the  Babylonian  sphere, 
since  it  had  been  taken  to  represent  creation  in  its  chief  apart- 
ments. The  upper  portion,  the  superior  heaven,  was  put  for  the 
celestial,  and  the  other,  the  inferior  heaven,  for  the  terrestrial  para- 
dise. Hence,  this  lower  hemisphere  had  a  double  assimilation  to 
the  earth  and  to  the  terrestrial  paradise,  just  as  the  upper  hemi- 
sphere represented  heaven  and  the  celestial  paradise. 

3d.  The  assimilation  of  the  inferior  portion  of  the  sphere  to  the 
earth,  to  a  particular  earth,  identical  with  the  paradise  of  man, 
had  been  neglected,  had  been  in  fact  forgotten.  A  sufficient  proof 


THE   CELESTIAL  EARTH.  215 

of  this  neglect  is  the  fact  that  it  is  necessary  to-day  to  enter  into 
these  labored  investigations  in  order  to  prove  the  reality  of  such 
original  assimilation.  The  fact  that  a  terminology,  also,  primitively 
applicable  only  to  a  particular  and  limited  celestial  and  terrestrial 
space,  was  afterwards  interpreted  of  the  entire  heavens  and  earth, 
and  is  so  generally  understood  by  scholars  at  the  present  day,  is 
another  proof  that  a  great  and  primitive  doctrine  appertaining  to 
the  cosmos  and  to  the  zodiacal  representation  of  it  had  been  at  an 
early  epoch  almost  entirely  forgotten.  Yet  not  entirely,  for  I  think 
it  had  been  preserved  in  the  mysteries,  and  a  careful  comparative 
study  of  the  cuneiform  texts  relating  to  these  matters  shows  that 
the  priest-kings  of  Babylon  had  perpetuated  the  ancient  dogma  on 
which  so  much  really  depended. 

4th.  The  consequence  of  the  neglect  referred  to  was  that  the 
inferior  hemisphere,  corresponding  to  our  nadir,  instead  of  being 
understood  as  symbolically  the  earth,  according  to  the  dogmas  of 
the  zodiacal  temple,  became  the  "  under  world,"  the  "  region  of 
darkness,"  the  u infernal  abodes,"  the  Hades  of  the  Greeks;  and 
the  terrestrial  paradise,  the  celestial  earth,  originally  identified  with 
the  lower  hemisphere,  was  consequently  in  the  same  way  referred 
to  this  fourth  world,  of  which  the  first  men  had  no  conception.  I 
speak  here  of  a  fourth  world  in  relation  to  the  "  three  worlds  "  of 
the  early  Aryan  tradition  and  sacred  books.  It  is  obvious  that  the 
superior  and  cosmical  triad  of  Babylon,  consisting  of  Anu,  Bel,  and 
Hea,  had  reference  to  a  similar  division  of  the  cosmos  into  three  re- 
gions. But  Hea,  as  we  see  from  Mr.  Smith,  was  at  a  later  epoch 
assigned,  as  god  of  the  dead,  to  this  fourth  region  wholly  factitious. 

SEC.  82.  A  fact  that  goes  far  to  demonstrate  the  ge.neral  theory 
just  set  forth  is  the  definite  location,  on  the  part  of  the  ancients,  of 
the  Greek  Hades,  and  particularly  of  the  infernal  river,  the  Styx, 
in  the  inferior  heaven  or  lower  hemisphere.  Its  astronomical  locality 
was  well  understood  and  exactly  described.  It  will  be  sufficient  for 
us  upon  this  point  to  cite  a  passage  from  Professor  A.  Romieu's 
critical  treatise  upon  the  "  Egyptian  Decans,"  being  a  series  of  let- 
ters addressed  to  Dr.  Lepsius,  But  before  introducing  this  passage, 
it  is  necessary  to  produce  another  one  relating  to  the  gates  of  souls, 
located  one  in  the  upper,  the  other  in  the  lower  hemisphere,  and 
which  is  as  follows :  — 


216 


HAR-MOAD. 


"  We  recognize  on  diverS  sides  the  general  conception  of  two 
celestial  gates,  situated  upon  the  milky  way,  giving  passage  to  hu- 
man souls ;  by  one  of  these  gates  the  souls  descend  from  the  most 
elevated  regions  of  space,  which  they  were  supposed  to  inhabit 
(before  birth),  and  by  the  other  they  return  towards  their  first 
abode,  after  having  accomplished  the  period  of  sojourn  on  the  earth 
that  had  been  allotted  to  them.  The  precise  position  of  these  gates 
of  the  firmament  varies  somewhat  with  different  authors ;  but  all 
agree,  nevertheless,  that  the  gate  by  which  the  descent  is  made  was 
situated  in  the  northern  heavens,  and  the  other  in  the  southern." 
"  Permit  me,  monsieur,  to  recall  here  the  passage  of  Macrobius 
which  develops  the  point  in  question :  '  Behold  the  path  by  which 
the  souls  descend  from  heaven  upon  the  earth  (at  birth).  The 
milky  way  extends  so  far  in  the  heavens  that  it  cuts  the  zodiac  at 
two  points,  in  Cancer  and  in  Capricorn,  two  signs  that  give  their 
names  to  the  tropics.  The  physicists  call  these  two  signs  the  gates 
of  the  sun,  because  they  mark  the  limit  of  the  sun's  northern  and 
southern  course,  which  never  passes  beyond  them.  It  is,  they  say, 
by  these  gates  that  souls  descend  from  heaven  upon  the  earth,  and 
remount  from  the  earth  toward  heaven.  It  is  by  that  of  men,  or 
by  Cancer,  that  the  souls  take  their  route  toward  the  earth,  and  it 
is  by  Capricorn,  or  gate  of  the  gods,  that  they  return  to  the  seat  of 
their  own  immortality,  where  they  are  numbered  with  the  gods ; 
this  is  that  which  Homer  has  figured  in  the  cave  of  Ithaca.'  " 1 

The  author  shows  that  these  gates  were  called  JKents  by  the 
Egyptians,  and  he  attempts  to  locate  them  definitely  upon  the 
Egyptian  sphere.  The  Kents  do  not  correspond  exactly  with  the 
signs  Cancer  and  Capricorn,  yet  they  appear  to  have  been  situated 
at  opposite  points  in  the  two  hemispheres.  It  is  in  treating  upon 
the  position  of  these  gates  of  the  souls,  as  they  pass  from  heaven 
into  the  bodj  at  birth,  and  from  the  body  at  death  toward  heaven, 
that  Professor  Romieu  fixes  the  locality  of  the  infernal  river,  or 
Styx,  in  the  inferior  heavens  :  — 

"  The  astrologue  Firmicus  informs  us  that  the  Styx  takes  its  rise 
in  the  eighth  degree  of  Libra ;  we  know  that  the  positions  of  the 
Greek  constellations  have  submitted  to  variations  in  process  of  time, 
of  which  we  have  to-day  no  precise  knowledge,  and  particularly  in 
respect  to  Libra,  which  did  not  exist  primitively  upon  the  Greek 
sphere.  Nevertheless,  according  to  the  position  of  the  curve,  which 
fixes  the  first  de*can  of  the  (southern)  Kent,  we  see  that  this  curve 
ought  to  pass  near  that  part  of  the  celestial  sphere  where  the  astro- 
logues  place  the  eighth  degree  of  Libra.  This  leads  us  to  con- 
*  Deco,n  du  del  Egyptien,  pp.  16, 17, 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  217 

elude  that  the  Styx  was  simply  the  Egyptian  idea  of  the  Kent, 
transported  into  the  Greek  religion,  and  the  coincidence  of  the  two 
risings  affords  a  confirmation  of  all  the  preceding.  The  identity 
of  the  two  myths  being  admitted,  we  ought  to  note  this  passage  of 
the  Georgics  where,  in  speaking  of  the  antarctic  pole,  Virgil  says : 
4  But  the  dark  Styx  and  the  infernal  shades  behold  that  (pole) 
under  their  feet.'  This  situation  of  the  Styx  and  of  the  ghost, 
enabling  them  to  behold  the  south  pole,  and  to  approach  it,  seems 
to  indicate  that  the  Styx,  and  consequently  the  Kent,  extended 
itself  far  to  the  south,  from  whence  it  results  that  the  four  decans 
of  this  Kent  had  been  placed  upon  the  milky  way." 1 

That  which  results,  absolutely  from  the  facts  developed  in  the 
two  extracts  from  Professor  Romieu  is :  1st.  The  primitive  astro- 
nomical character  of  the  infernal  river,  the  Styx,  the  "  Stygian 
abyss,"  as  termed  by  Dr.  Faber ;  consequently  of  the  Greek  Hades, 
also,  since  the  Stygian  sea  is  definitely  located  in  Hades,  or  the 
under  world.  2d.  The  location  astronomically  of  this  river,  and 
thus  of  Hades,  in  the  inferior  hemisphere,  the  river  itself  taking 
its  rise  in  the  sign  Libra,  and  stretching  off  to  the  south  pole.  3d. 
The  astronomical  character  of  the  gates  of  souls,  the  Egyptian 
Kents,  and  their  connection  in  some  sense  with  this  infernal  abode 
and  river.  What  we  have  now  to  do  is  to  connect  with  these  facts 
Dr.  Faber's  description  of  the  celestial  earth,  otherwise  termed  a 
terrestrial  heaven  or  paradise,  under  the  form  of  a  ship,  or  floating 
island,  conceived  as  floating  upon  this  Stygian  abyss,  whose  terrific 
waves  and  tempests  engulf  the  unfortunate  souls  who  are  unable 
to  secure  a  foothold  upon  the  island.  It  seems  to  me  that  these 
i'acts  ought  to  be  regarded  as  perfectly  conclusive  to  the  effect  that 
the  terrestrial  paradise,  or  celestial  earth,  had  been  primitively  as- 

1  Ibid.,  p.  22.     The  entire  distich  cited  by  the  author  from  the  Georgics  is  as 

follows  :  — 

.    "  Hie  vertex  nobis  semper  sublimis:  at  ilium 

Sub  pedibus  Styx  atra  viclet,  Manesque  profundi." 

(i.  242,  243.) 

"  The  north  pole  is  always  elevated  above  us ;  but  that  (the  south  pole)  the 
dark  Styx  and  the  infernal  shades  behold  under  their  feet."  With  the  ancients 
the  north  celestial  pole  was  the  centre  of  the  heavens,  like  our  zenith,  and  the 
south  pole  was  thus  like  our  nadir.  A  recent  annotator  of  Virgil  observes : 
"  Videt,  of  course,  does  not  mean  that  the  south  pole  is  actually  visible  from  the 
shades."  But  this  is  precisely  what  Virgil  does  mean,  and  the  fact  stated  by 
Firmicus,  that  the  Styx  takes  its  rise  in  the  eighth  degree  of  Libra,  proves  the 
definite  location  astronomically  of  all  these  ideas  in  the  inferior  heavens. 


218 


HAR-MOAD. 


similated  astronomically  to*  the  inferior  hemisphere,  and  that  at  a 
later  period,  by  some  singular  misconception,  this  traditional  abode 
of  the  first  men  had  been  converted  into  the  Greek  Hades,  astro- 
nomically located  also  in  the  lower  hemisphere.  We  cannot  assume 
here,  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  the  school  of  M.  Dupuis, 
that  all  these  conceptions  were  purely  astronomical  from  the  begin- 
ning, and  that  no  really  historical  and  geographical  element  at- 
taches to  them.  The  historical  and  geographical  facts  have  been 
demonstrated  as  absolutely  primitive,  and  it  has  been  shown  that 
the  sphere  had  been  taken  as  a  symbolical  representation  of  them. 
The  superior  and  inferior  hemispheres  were  regarded  as  symbols 
respectively  of  the  two  principal  divisions  of  the  cosmos,  that  is  to 
say,  of  the  particular  heaven  and  earth  known  to  the  first  men,  con- 
ceived as  a  celestial  and  a  terrestrial  paradise.  But  the  assimilation 
of  the  lower  hemisphere  to  the  earth  had  been  forgotten,  and  as  a 
consequence  this  hemisphere  had  assumed  the  character  of  a  dis- 
tinct cosmical  region  lower  than  the  earth,  becoming  thus  the  under 
world,  the  abode  of  darkness  and  of  the  dead.  Still,  the  tradition 
of  paradise  attached  to  it,  and  consequently  the  primeval  abode  of 
humanity  was  transferred  also  to  the  Greek  Hades,  whose  astro- 
nomical location  in  the  inferior  heavens  has  been  fully  established. 

SEC.  83.  While  upon  the  subject  of  the  Egyptian  sphere,  it  will 
be  well  to  introduce  some  other  facts  connected  with  it  which  relate 
to  our  general  topic.  In  his  treatise  upon  the  "Nomes  of  Egypt," 
M.  J.  De  Rouge  has  the  following  relative  to  Heliopolis  :  — 

"  The  god  of  Heliopolis  was  the  sun  under  its  two  principal 
forms:  Turn,  that  is  to  say,  'the  hidden  sun,'  the  sun  of  the  pri- 
mordial night  before  its  manifestation  to  the  world ;  and  Ra,  the 
sun  after  its  birth."  l 

M.  Eugene  Gre*baut  translated  an  Egyptian  hymn  to  Ammon 
Ra,  in  which  occurs  this  sentence :  "  Sole  form  who  produces  all 
things  ;  the  sole  One  who  produces  all  beings  ;  men  are  issued  from 
his  eyes,  and  his  words  become  gods."  To  which  the  translator 
adds  the  following  comments  in  a  note:  "That  is  to  say,  according 
to  my  view,  men  are  produced  from  the  luminous  manifestation  of 
Turn,  the  god  '  who  exists  alone  in  the  abyss  of  waters.'  As  diurnal 
sun  he  rises  upon  the  world  vivified  by  the  light  of  his  eyes,  when 
all  beings  take  their  birth.  His  word  becomes  the  gods  ;  the  texts 
1  Names  de  I'Eyypte,  p,  38. 


THE   CELESTIAL  EARTH.  219 

say  habitually,  « the  gods  issue  from  his  mouth,'  that  is  to  say,  he 
manifests  himself  by  his  word,  the  truth."  l  Another  fact  in  rela- 
tion to  the  Egyptian  Turn  is  to  be  noted.  An  ancient  scTibe  em- 
ploys the  following  language  in  praise  of  his  master,  the  king : 
"Thou  dost  enter  thy  palace,  as  Turn  into  the  solar  mountain." 2 
According  to  Champollion  and  Dr.  H.  Brugsch,  the  "  solar  moun- 
tain "  was  located  in  the  zodiacal  sign  Libra,  and  connected  with 
it  were  represented  the  mother  goddess  and  her  child  Harpocra- 
tes.3  I  have  already  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  Accadian  and 
Egyptian  Turn  should  be  identified  as  a  primitive  Hamite  divinity 
connected  with  the  lower  hemisphere.  The  different  local  devel- 
opments of  one  and  the  same  original  character,  so  frequent  in 
mythology,  are  not  at  all  surprising.  Their  primitive  sameness 
may  be  inferred  :  1st.  From  the  phonetical  identity  of  the  two 
names.  2d.  From  the  fact  that  both  appertain  to  the  inferior 
heavens.  3d.  From  their  connection  with  a  sacred  mountain.  The 
Egyptian  Turn  was  associated  with  the  solar  mountain,  located  in 
the  sign  Libra,  consequently  in  the  east.  A  bilingual  phrase  seems 
to  put  the  Accadian  Turn  in  relation  to  a  sacred  mountain,  thus, 
"  The  sublime  mountain  of  Turn  is  Istar." 4  The  phrase  Tul-ku, 
which  I  render  "sublime  mountain,"  is  the  Accadian  name  of  the 
seventh  month,  which  corresponds  to  the  sign  Libra,  in  which  the 
solar  mountain  of  the  Egyptians  was  represented,  together  with 
the  mother  goddess  and  her  child.  The  mountain  of  the  Accadian 
Turn  is  identified  with  Is-tar  in  the  text  cited,  who  was  considered 
the  goddess  mother.  The  coincidences  here  are  very  striking,  and 
if  we  call  to  mind  the  facts  heretofore  presented  tending  to  connect 
Is-tar  with  Mt.  Meru,  under  the  name  of  Ida,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  admit  that  the  Egyptians  had  preserved  a  tradition  of  the  para- 
disiacal mountain,  and  of  the  mother  of  Eden,  recording  them,  so 
to  speak,  in  their  sphere.  With  the  fact  of  Turns  association  with 
a  sacred  mountain,  should  be  connected  also  the  data  previously 

1  Revue  Archeologique ,  June,  1873,  p.  387,  text,  and  note  3. 

2  Vid.  M.  G.  Maspero,  BiUiothequc  des  Hautes  Etudes,  Genre  epistolaire  chez 
les  Eyyptiens,  etc.,  p.  96. 

8  Brugsch,  Noucelles  Recherches,  etc.,  pp.  55,  56. 

4  3d  Rawl.  PI.  68,  Col.  2,  Obs.  1.  27.  The  text  has  the  reading:  An  Turn  iul- 
ku-(ja  =  An  Is-tar.  The  element  Tul  has  the  sense  of  "  mound,  column,  ram- 
part," and  is  sometimes  applied  to  mountains. 


220 


HAR-MOAD. 


established  in  this  chapter* which  tend  to  identify  Aim  and  Turn 
with  the  particular  heaven  and  earth  known  to  the  first  men,  that 
is  to  say,  the  mount  of  paradise. 

Having  determined  the  locality,  astronomically,  of  the  Greek 
Hades  and  of  the  Stygian  abyss,  it  will  be  possible  with  greater 
certainty  to  ascertain  the  precise  domain  of  Hea,  whom  Mr.  Smith 
very  properly  represents  as  god  of  the  dead,  ruler  of  the  infernal 
regions,  like  the  Pluto  of  classic  mythology,  to  whom  in  fact  Hea 
has  been  frequently  compared.  A  cuneiform  text  well  known  to 
Assyriologues  contains  a  list  of  the  twelve  names  of  Mercury,  one 
to  each  month  of  the  year,  assumed  by  this  planet  successively  as  it 
attends  the  sun  in  its  annual  course.  In  the  Assyrian  month  Adar, 
corresponding  to  the  sign  Pisces,  or  the  fishes,  Mercury  takes  the 
name  of  Kha  An  Hea,  "fish  of  the  god  Hea."1  This  seems  to 
connect  Hea  definitely  with  the  inferior  hemisphere,  and  especially 
with  the  zodiacal  division  Pisces.  Moreover,  in  such  connection  he 
seems  to  be  a  form  of  Mercury  ;  and  this  explains  the  phraseology 
of  Dr.  Faber  in  depicting  the  vision  of  Timarchus,  as  already  cited, 
namely,  "  the  infernal  Mercury  or  Pluto."  We  know  now  that 
this  infernal  Mercury  appertained  to  the  inferior  heavens,  and  thus 
we  have  a  double  proof  that  Hea  had  his  domain  in  the  same  astro- 
nomical locality.  Not  only  his  character,  so  similar  to  that  of  Pluto, 
but  his  connection  with  the  sign  Pisces,  go  to  establish  this  point. 

Again,  a  tablet  giving  the  thirty-six  titles  of  Hea,  who  rules  the 
infernal  world,  has  the  two  following  as  first  and  second :  "  Lord  of 
the  earth  (Ki),"  and  u  Lord  of  the  celestial  earth  (An-ki)."2  This 
is  an  important  text  for  our  present  purpose.  Hea  appears  as  lord 
of  the  earth,  of  the  celestial  earth,  and  of  the  infernal  regions. 
He  is  termed  in  other  places  lord  of  mankind ;  and  the  name  of 
his  wife  is  Nin-ki-gal,  "  mistress  of  the  great  earth."  All  this  is 
perfectly  consistent  with  our  theory.  The  primitive  earth  known 
to  mankind  was  the  celestial  earth,  the  terrestrial  paradise.  It  had 
been  assimilated  to  the  lower  hemisphere  ;  and  it  is  this  region  that 
becomes  the  especial  domain  of  Hea  as  ruler  of  the  under  world, 
converted  by  misapprehension  into  a  world  by  itself,  distinct  from 
the  earth,  and  identical  with  the  Greek  Hades.  It  is  to  this  abode, 
and  floating  on  the  Stygian  river  taking  its  rise  in  the  sign  Libra, 

1  3d  Rawl.  PI.  53,  2  Obs.  1.  13. 

2  2<1  Rawl.  PI.  55,  Col.  2,  11.  17,  18. 


THE   CELESTIAL   EARTH.  221 

that  the  terrestrial  paradise  has  been  transferred  under  the  form  of 
a  floating  island. 

SEC.  84.  I  wish  to  introduce  here  some  other  leading  facts  tend- 
ing to  establish  our  general  theory,  drawn  from  the  legend  of  Ishtars 
descent  into  Hades,  some  passages  from  which,  as  rendered  by  Mr. 
Smith,  were  presented  before  (Sec.  80).  This  legend,  being  indeed 
a  fine  literary  production,  has  been  a  favorite  study  among  Assyrio- 
logties.  M.  Lenormant  has  published  two  or  three  versions  of  it, 
the  later  improvements  on  the  first ;  Mr.  Fox  Talbot  has  given  to 
the  public  as  many  more,  and  Mr.  George  Smith  one  or  two.  Dr. 
Schrader  devoted  a  special  study  to  the  subject  some  time  since, 
and  recently  Dr.  Oppert  has  done  the  same.  So  far  as  relates  to 
a  true  rendering  of  the  text,  there  is  now  a  substantial  agreement 
among  cuneiform  scholars.  But  its  real  intent  and  meaning  are 
probably  not  yet  fully  understood.  That  an  astronomical  element 
is  fundamental  in  it  is  apparent  not  only  from  internal  evidence, 
but  is  naturally  to  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  religion  of 
Babylon  was  preeminently  astral.  But  we  seem  to  be  gradually 
accumulating  overwhelming  proofs  that  the  astronomical  element  in 
the  ancient  religions,  especially  the  Chaldseo-Assyrian,  was  at  the 
first  thoroughly  symbolical,  relating  to  traditions  and  doctrines  more 
primitive,  but  whose  real  import  had  been  at  later  epochs  sadly  mis- 
conceived and  perverted. 

A  remark  or  two  here  in  relation  to  some  of  the  principal  char- 
acters which  appear  in  this  legend,  and  to  some  circumstances  con- 
nected with  it.  Ish-tar,  as  we  know,  was  the  Babylonian  Venus, 
answering  to  the  goddess  of  love  of  Greek  mythology.  Upon  the 
real  object  of  her  descent  into  Hades,  Mr.  Talbot  observes :  "  I  con- 
jecture that  she  was  in  search  of  her  beloved  Thammuz-Adonis,  who 
was  detained  in  Hades  by  Persephone  or  Proserpine."  l  Tharnmuz 
or  Adonis,  as  is  well  known,  was  the  sun  of  the  lower  hemisphere, 
the  youthful  sun-god,  who  had  suffered  an  untimely  and  violent 
death.  He  is  detained  in  Hades  by  Proserpine,  companion  of  the 
infernal  Mercury  or  Pluto,  according  to  the  vision  of  Timarchus, 
already  related  to  us  by  Dr.  Faber.  In  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Talbot, 
Proserpine  is  to  be  identified  with  Nin-ki-gal,  "mistress  of  the 
great  earth,"  wife  of  Hea,  whom  Mr.  Smith  has  compared  to  Pluto.2 

1  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  i.  p.  142. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  143,  note  2. 


222 


HAR-MOAD. 


Both  Hea  and  Nin-ki-gal  play  important  parts  in  the  legend  to 
which  \ve  refer.  Respecting  the  object  of  Ishtar's  descent,  namely, 
to  meet  her  beloved  Adonis,  the  Du-zu  or  Tur-zi  of  the  cuneiform 
texts,  M.  Lenormant  holds  substantially  the  same  views  as  those 
expressed  above  by  Mr.  Talbot.1  Hence,  as  Adonis  represents  the 
sun  in  the  inferior  heavens,  like  the  Egyptian  Osiris,  it  is  necessary 
to  locate  in  this  astronomical  region  the  particular  Hades  into 
which  Ishtar  makes  this  descent.  The  notions  respecting  this  abode 
of  the  dead,  as  set  forth  in  the  legend,  may  be  gathered  from  the 
portion  of  it  already  cited  from  Mr.  Smith's  version.  This  local- 
ity into  which  Ishtar  descends  is  also  definitely  fixed  by  the  proofs 
heretofore  introduced  relating  to  the  domain  of  Hea,  and  conse- 
quently of  his  wife  Nin-ki-gal. 

We  wish  to  study  now  the  import  of  some  of  the  expressions 
employed  in  designating  the  region  to  which  Ishtar  goes  to  meet 
her  beloved.  I  shall  refer  to  the  lines  already  presented  from  Mr. 
Smith's  version  on  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  to  the  original  text 
as  published  by  Mr.  Talbot,  some  of  whose  notes  are  to  be  cited 
below.2  In  the  first  line :  "  To  Hades,"  etc.,  the  cuneiform  for 
"  Hades "  is  Mat-nudea,  literally  "  land  of  no  return."  There 
seems  to  be  no  question  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  phrase.  Its  Ac- 
cadian  etymology  would  be  mat,  "  land,"  nu,  "  no,  not,"  and  de, 
44  to  return."  The  second  name  for  the  same  region  occurs  in  the 
fourth  line :  "  To  the  house  of  the  departed,"  etc.  The  text  has 
Bit-E-di-e ;  and  the  rendering  "  house  of  assembly,"  suggested, 
but  not  adopted  by  Mr.  Talbot,  would  be  much  better.  Of  this, 
however,  hereafter.  In  the  fifth  line  we  have  the  cuneiform  Bit 
sha  E-ri-bu,  rendered :  44  To  the  house  from  within  which,"  etc.,  by 
Mr.  Smith.  This  version  is  far  from  being  literal,  although  on  the 
whole  it  is  not  objectionable.  E-ri-bu,  as  Mr.  Talbot  observes, 
must  be  allied  to  the  Greek  Erelos,  "  region  of  darkness,"  "  under 
world,"  having  original  reference  to  the  place  where  the  sun  sets  at 
night,  and  like  the  Egyptian  Amenti,  "  west,"  put  for  the  abode  of 
the  dead,  where  the  sun  descends  at  close  of  day.  But  E-ri-bu  in 

1  Premieres  Civilisations,  t.  \\.  pp.  94-96.     Dr.  J.  Oppert  gives  countenance  to 
the  same  view,  L' Tmmortalite  de  Vame  cJiez  les  Chaldeens,  p.  4. 

2  For  this  text,  see  Trans.  Bib.  Arch.  So.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  179-212.     The  most  of  it 
is  now  published  likewise  in   the  fourth  volume  of  Cuneiform  Inscriptions,  often 
cited  in  these  pages  as  4th  Rawl. 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  223 

our  text  has  a  verbal  sense,  that  of  "  entering "  in  opposition  to 
departing.  "  The  house  of  entering,  from  which  is  no  departing," 
conveys  the  idea  with  sufficient  exactness.  The  terms  Erib  and 
Atzu,  placed  here  in  relation,  as  Mr.  Talbot  states,  mean  his  setting 
and  his  rising,  when  applied  to  the  sun.  It  is  evident  that  they 
have  nearly  these  senses  in  the  present  instance.  But  in  the  sixth 
line  Mr.  Smith  has  the  rendering :  "  To  the  road  the  course  of 
which  never  returns."  For  "  road,"  the  text  employs  Khar-ra-ni, 
"  road,  path,"  which  is  an  ordinary  term  designating  the  "  zodiac," 
and  there  seems  to  be  a  reference,  a  sort  of  double  allusion  to  the 
zodiac,  the  same  as  to  the  west,  in  the  use  of  E-ri-bu. 

We  return  now  to  the  phrase  in  the  fourth  line:  Bit-E-di-e, 
"  house  of  the  departed,"  as  interpreted  by  Mr.  Smith.  The  fol- 
lowing valuable  note  relative  to  this  expression  is  by  Mr.  Talbot: 

"  Hades  is  here  called  Bit  Edi  or  Bit  Hedi,  n"TO  rP2»  '  the  house 
of  Assembly,'  because  the  spirits  of  all  past  generations  are  assem- 
bled there,  Heb.  ni!7,  coetus,  conventus,  turba.  In  the  Syriac  New 
Testament,  SJ"T"p  is  continually  used  for  '  Ecclesia,'  the  assembly. 
Similarly  in  Job  xxx.  23,  Hades  is  called  ~pift  {"YO>  'the  house  of 
assembly,'  to  which  is  added  ipj  b^V,  '  of  all  living.'  "  "  Consider- 
ing this  eastern  usage  of  the  word  Hedi,  rnr»  I  think  it  probable 
that  the  Greek  '  Hades '  is  derived  from  it." 1 

The  Semitic  Hedi  (rrn?)  is  thus  defined  by  Dr.  Fiirst:  "An  as- 
sembly, a  congregation,  especially  of  Israel,  but  also  the  members 
of  a  family,  or  house  ;  also,  host  or  mob  that  join  for  a  certain  pur- 
pose "  (sub  voc.).  Its  application  to  the  dead  in  the  Hebrew  is 
quite  exceptional,  to  say  the  least.  It  is  one  of  the  ordinary  ex- 
pressions for  "the  congregation"  of  Israel,  assembled  before  the 
tabernacle  or  in  the  temple.  Under  the  Syriac  form,  and  in  the 
New  Testament,  as  remarked  by  Mr.  Talbot,  it  is  put  for  the  "Ec- 
clesia," the  congregation  or  church.  As  for  the  Hebrew  Moad 
(l^s),  its  application  to  the  dead  in  the  passage,  Job.  xxx.  23, 
cited  by  Mr.  Talbot,  is  the  only  instance,  I  believe,  of  its  employ- 
ment in  this  sense.  Its  primary  meaning  is  "  appointed  time,  fixed 
time,  festival ;  "  thence  put  for  appointed  assembly,  usually  des- 
ignating the  "  congregation,  assembly  "  of  the  house  of  Israel,  like 
the  term  just  explained.  But  notwithstanding  these  facts,  Mr. 

Talbot's  statements  in  the  foregoing  extract  appear  to  be  correct. 

• 
1  Trans.  Bib.  Arch.  So.,  vol.  iii.  p.  125. 


224 


HAR-MOAD. 


His  assimilation  of  the  cuneiform  Bit  Hedi  {Bit-E-di-e)  to  the 
Hebrew  word  first  referred  to  admits  of  no  doubt,  and  his  con- 
jecture that  the  Greek  Hades  was  derived  from  it  may  be  accepted, 
at  least  for  the  present. 

SEC.  85.  We  have  in  the  data  comprehended  in  the  last  section 
another  series  of  striking  confirmations  of  our  position  that  the 
infernal  abodes,  understood  as  the  Hades  of  the  Greeks,  were  defi- 
nitely located  astronomically  in  the  inferior  heavens,  the  region  into 
which  the  sun  descends  as  it  sets  in  the  west,  arid  which  answers  in 
some  sense  to  our  nadir.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Egyp- 
tians located  their  Amenti  or  Hades  astronomically  in  precisely  the 
same  locality.  Various  other  facts  revealed  by  a  comparative  study 
of  different  cuneiform  expressions  might  be  introduced  as  a  still 
further  support  of  our  theory.  Among  these  is  the  bilingual  equa- 
tion of  the  Accadian  An-ki  to  the  Assyrian  ll-sar,  in  which  Sar, 
the  Accadian  Khi,  "  to  be  good,  to  be  happy,"  is  a  monogram  for 
Assur,  or  supreme  divinity  of  the  Assyrians.1  The  later  form  of 
Sar  is  Asar,  and  its  reference  to  the  inferior  heavens  is  proved  by 
the  phrase  pal-asar,  "  son  of  the  lower  hemisphere."  For  the  pre- 
sent, however,  we  will  consider  the  fact  of  the  astronomical  loca- 
tion of  both  the  celestial  earth  and  the  Greek  Hades  in  the  inferior 
heavens  as  sufficiently  established.  Indeed,  no  point  in  the  whole 
domain  of  antiquities  was  ever  better  supported  than  the  proposi- 
tion referred  to  by  the  evidences  already  presented.  Again,  the  very 
name  for  Hades,  the  cuneiform  Bit-E-di-e,  Semitic  Hedi,  to  which 
Mr.  Talbot  would  trace  the  origin  of  this  Greek  term,  as  we  find 
it  employed  in  the  fourth  line  of  the  legend  in  question,  affords 
another  proof  of  the  conversion  of  the  terrestrial  paradise,  regarded 
as  a  celestial  earth,  into  the  infernal  regions  as  conceived  by  the 
Greeks.  It  was  shown  in  our  chapters  on  the  temple  and  cosmos, 
especially  the  fifth  and  sixth,  that  the  Hebrew  tabernacle  and  tem- 
ple were  architectural  imitations  of  the  traditional  mount  of  para- 
dise, the  same  as  the  pyramidal  temples  of  the  Euphrates  valley. 
This  mountain  is  termed  the  Har-Moad,  or  "  mount  of  assembly," 
by  Isaiah,  evidently  in  strict  analogy  with  the  sense  of  Beth-Moad 
and  Beth-Hedi  or  Hedah,  designating  the  "  congregation  "  of  Israel, 
assembled  before  the  tabernacle  or  in  the  temple.  Bishop  Lowth 

1  Vid.  2d  Rawl.  PI.  54,  3  Obs.  1.  6.      This  identification  of  the  two   expres- 
sions, An-ki  and  An-khi,  the  Assyrian  2l-sar,  admits  of  no  doubt. 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  225 

puts  the  Har-Moad  and  Beth-Moad,  equal  to  the  Beth-Hedi,  in  direct 
relation  (note  Is.  xiv.  13)  ;  and  we  show  that  the  latter,  as  a  place 
of  "  assembly,"  was  an  imitation  architecturally,  an  inheritance 
traditionally,  as  regards  the  former.  But  the  Beth-Hedi,  imitation 
of  the  paradisiacal  mount,  central  object  of  the  Israelitish  congrega- 
tion and  church,  is  only  another  name  for  the  infernal  regions  in 
the  legend  of  Ishtar,  regarded  also  by  Mr.  Talbot  as  having  fur- 
nished to  the  Greeks  their  name  Hades.  A  similar  transfer  of 
ideas  is  seen  in  reference  to  Beth-Moad,  as  it  occurs  in  the  passage 
cited  from  Job,  where  this  location  denotes  the  region  of  the  dead. 
In  a  word,  we  have  here  the  most  striking  proof  that  Hades  and 
the  church,  whether  that  of  the  Hebrews,  or  the  "  Ecclesia  "  of  the 
New  Testament,  originally  meant  the  same  thing ;  that  their  tra- 
ditional origin  was  the  terrestrial  paradise  ;  the  connection  with 
which  of  the  Accadian  An-Jci,  the  Sanskrit  Svarga-bhoumi,  and  the 
celestial  earth  of  the  vision  of  Timarchus  reported  by  Dr.  Faber, 
may  be  regarded  as  already  fully  established.  As  previously 
stated,  the  primary  cause  of  the  singular  perversion  of  original  doc- 
trines, which  we  behold  in  the  transformation  of  the  terrestrial  par- 
adise into  the  Greek  Hades,  arose  from  the  neglect  or  forgetfulness 
of  the  fact  that  the  lower  hemisphere,  taken  as  a  symbol  of  the  first 
abode  of  humanity,  was  at  the.  same  time  assimilated  in  conception 
to  the  earth  itself;  originally  the  particular  earth  identical  with 
paradise.  But  that  which  had  a  powerful  tendency  in  the  same 
direction,  as  we  can  now  fully  appreciate,  was  the  fact  that  the 
sun's  course  had  been  taken  as  a  symbol  of  human  existence.  The 
following  statements  of  M.  Mariette-Bey  will  serve  us  here  as  illus- 
tration and  proofs :  — 

"  Originally  Osiris  is  the  nocturnal  sun  ;  he  is  the  primordial 
night  (like  the  Egyptian  Turn)  ;  he  precedes  the  light ;  he  is  con 
sequently  anterior  to  Ra,  the  diurnal  sun.  From  this  principal 
character  flows  a  multitude  of  allegories,  which  are  grouped 
around  Osiris,  making  of  this  personage  a  type  of  divinity  the  most 
curious  to  study.  The  life  of  man  had  been  assimilated  by  the 
Egyptians  to  the  course  of  the  sun  above  our  heads  ;  the  sun  that 
sets  and  disappears  below  the  horizon  is  the  image  of  the  death  of 
man.  Hardly  has  this  supreme  moment  arrived,  when  Osiris  takes 
possession  of  the  soul,  which  he  is  charged  to  conduct  to  the  eternal 
light.  Osiris,  they  say,  had  formerly  descended  upon  the  earth. 
The  good  being  par  excellence,  he  had  softened  the  manners  of  men 


226 


HAR-MOAD. 


by  persuasion  and  beneficenoe.  But  he  bad  fallen  into  the  snares  of 
Typhon,  his  brother,  the  genius  of  evil,  and  while  his  two  sisters, 
Isis  and  Nepbthys,  collected  the  fragments  of  his  body  which  had 
been  thrown  into  the  river,  the  god  was  raised  from  the  dead, 
appearing  to  his  son  Horus,"  etc.  "  The  image  of  death  had  been 
derived  from  the  sun,  as  it  disappears  at  the  horizon  of  evening  ; 
but  the  resplendent  sun  of  morning  was  taken  as  a  symbol  of  the 

second  birth  into  a  life  which  this  time  knows  no  death."  1 

^ 
Another  instance  of  the  assimilation  of  the  sun's  course  to  human 

existence,  quite  similar  to  the  one  just  noticed,  appears  in  the  double 
character  of  the  Hindu  Yama,  reputed  first  man,  yet  unquestion- 
ably assimilated  to  the  sun.  Conceptions  of  a  like  nature  prevailed 
at  an  early  epoch  among  the  Chinese.  It  will  be  easily  perceived, 
then,  since  the  descent  of  the  sun  below  the  western  horizon  was  a 
type  of  man's  death,  and  its  reappearance  in  the  east  a  type  of  the 
resurrection  to  a  new  life,  how  powerfully  such  conceptions  would 
tend  to  locate  the  Egyptian  Amenti,  the  Greek  Hades,  in  precisely 
that  astronomical  region  where  we  find  situated  the  abode  of  the 
dead,  according  to  the  conceptions  of  many  peoples  of  antiquity. 
But  so  long  as  this  portion  of  the  sphere  was  assimilated  to  the 

1  Musee  a  Boulaq,  etc.,  pp.  100,  101.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  transcription  of 
the  name  of  Osiris,  when  written  with  vague  vowels  is  Asar  (vid.  E.  De  Rouge, 
Chrestomaihie  Egyptienne,  pt.  1,  p.  73),  a  reading  identical  with  the  Assyrian 
Asar,  signifying  the  lower  hemisphere.  The  Assyrian  term  is  the  name  of  the 
chief  divinity,  whose  monogram  is  the  Accadian  Khi,  "  to  be  happy,  to  make 
happy,"  designating  this  deity  as  the  "  good  ;  "  thus  An  Khi  is  the  "  god  good." 
The  hieratic  form  of  Khi  is  identical  with  that  of  Zid,  "  the  sun."  The  two 
phrases  An-khi  &nd  An-ki  are  often  equated  in  the  texts.  These  facts  seem  to 
warrant  the  following  conclusions  :  — 

1st.  That  the  Assyrian  God  Asar  was  originally  one  with  the  Egyptian  Asar, 
or  Osiris.  They  were  both  solar  deities,  both  being  forms  of  the  sun  in  the  lower 
hemisphere.  They  were  both  esteemed  the  "good"7?ar  excellence,  and  their 
names  were  phonetically  identical. 

2d.  We  have  thus  another  evidence  of  a  community  of  ideas  at  an  extremely 
remote  epoch,  inherited  by  the  populations  of  the  Nile  valley  and  those  settled  in 
the  country  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris. 

3d.  Both  the  Assyrian  and  Egyptian  Asar,  as  the  "good  being,"  the  "  benefi- 
cent," seem  to  have  been  <*>nnected  or  identified  closely  with  the  "celestial 
earth."  The  cuneiform  An-khi  and  An-ki  are  equated  to  each  other  ;  and  in  the 
"Litany  of  the  Sun,"  translated  by  M.  Naville,  that  which  he  renders  the  Empy- 
rean is  the  peculiar  abode  of  Osiris,  and  it  answers  very  nearly  to  the  "  celestial 
earth  "  transferred  to  the  inferior  heavens  (vid.  note  1,  chap.  xvi.  upon  this  last 
point,  p.  425). 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  227 

earth  as  one  chief  division  of  the  cosmos,  in  strict  harmony  with  the 
primitive  doctrines  of  the  zodiacal  temple,  it  would  be  impossible  to 
suppose  a  factitious  world  of  which  the  first  men  had  no  ideas.  So 
long,  too,  as  the  earth,  to  which  all  the  cosmogonies  originally 
related,  was  recognized  as  the  particular  earth  identical  with  the 
traditional  paradise,  there  was  no  danger  that  it  would  develop  itself 
into  the  later  Hades  of  Greek  mythology.  In  reality,  the  Hebrews 
of  Moses'  time  had  preserved  the  primeval  doctrine  in  its  purity, 
or  better,  Moses  had  restored  it.  He  maintained  the  strict  relation 
of  the  Beth-Moad,  "  house  of  the  assembly,"  to  the  Har-Moad, 
"  mount  of  the  assembly,"  from  which  the  former  had  been  tra- 
ditionally derived,  being  architecturally  an  imitation  of  it.  This 
fact,  finally,  reveals  the  fundamental  connection  of  the  Mosaic  cos- 
mogony, as  previously  interpreted  in  these  pages  and  represented 
in  the  Har-Moad,  with  the  Mosaic  theocracy  represented  in  the 
Beth-Moad,  or  Beth-Hedah. 

SEC.  86.  As  observed  in  the  last  section,  Bishop  Lowth  assumes 
a  direct  relation  of  the  Har-Moad,  in  a  theological  or  religious  sense, 
to  the  Beth-Moad.  Our  investigations  have  served  to  demonstrate 
this  relation  in  a  traditional  sense.  The  Beth-Moad,  or  Hebrew 
tabernacle,  was  expressly  designed,  like  the  pyramidal  temples  of 
the  Euphrates  valley,  as  an  imitation,  an  architectural  reproduction 
of  the  Har-Moad,  or  the  '*  mountain  of  assembly  "  in  the  sides  of 
the  north,  traditional  abode  of  primeval  humanity.  In  other  terms, 
the  two  apartments  of  the  tabernacle  were  intended  to  represent  the 
celestial  and  terrestrial  paradise,  united  by  the  sacred  mountain, 
of  which  Mt.  Sion  and  all  the  sacred  mountains  of  antiquity  were 
but  reflections.  Bishop  Lowth's  language  is  as  follows  :  — 

"  '  The  mount  of  the  divine  presence '  (Har-Moad).  It  appears 
plainly  from  Exod.  xxv.  22,  and  xxix.  42,  43,  where  God  appoints 
the  place  of  meeting  with  Moses,  and  promises  to  meet  with  him 
before  the  ark,  to  commune  with  him  and  to  speak  unto  him  ;  and 
to  meet  the  children  of  Israel  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle ;  that 
the  tabernacle,  and  afterward  the  temple,  and  Mount  Sion  whereon 
it  stood,  was  called  the  tabernacle,  and  the  mount,  of  convention, 
or  of  appointment ;. not  from  the  people's  assembling  there  to  per- 
form the  services  of  their  religion  (which  is  what  our  translation 
expresses  by  calling  it  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation),  but 
because  God  appointed  that  for  the  place  where  He  himself  would 
meet  with  Moses  and  commune  with  him,  and  would  meet  with  the 


228 


HAR-MOAD. 


people.  Therefore,  Har-Mdhd  (T5n£— >n),  or 
means  the  place  appointed  by  God  where  he  would  present  himself, 
agreeably  to  which  I  have  rendered  it,  in  this  place,  *  the  mount  of 
the  divine  presence.'  '  (Notes,  Is.  xiv.  13.) 

Undoubtedly,  the  idea  of  an  immediate  divine  presence  is  implied 
in  both  expressions,  the  Har-Moad  and  Beth-Mood.  The  Accadian 
character  Gran,  a  phonetic  value  assimilated  to  the  Hebrew  Gran  in 
the  phrase  Gran-Eden  by  most  Assyriologues,  whose  hieratic  form 
has  been  exhibited  and  explained,  has  the  especial  sense  of  presence, 
as  if  in  direct  allusion  to  the  idea  upon  which  Dr.  Lowth  insists. 
Nevertheless,  the  notion  of  the  divine  presence  on  one  hand  does 
not  exclude,  but  rather  presupposes  that  of  assembly,  of  congrega- 
tion, on  the  other.  In  either  case,  the  relation  of  the  Beth-Moad 
to  the  Har-Moad,  in  a  religious,  and  we  may  add,  in  a  politico-reli- 
gious sense,  is  clearly  recognized.  It  is  with  the  Har-Moad,  or 
"  mountain  of  assembly  "  in  the  extreme  north,  that  the  prophet 
directly  associates  El  and  Elyon,  and  likewise  the  "  stars  of  El," 
evidently  the  seven  stars  of  the  chariot,  represented,  as  I  have  sup- 
posed, by  the  golden  candlestick  with  seven  lights.  This  par- 
ticular region  of  heaven,  the  celestial  paradise,  was  the  especial 
dwelling-place  of  divinity,  of  which  the  Holy  of  Holies  was  designed 
as  a  symbol.  We  see  here  a  confirmation  of  the  doctrine  main- 
tained by  Dr.  Bahr,  that  the  Hebrew  tabernacle  was  properly  con- 
ceived as  a  dwelling  of  God,  a  doctrine  upon  which  we  have  also  so 
much  insisted.  The  Holy  of  Holies  was  religiously  and  traditionally 
a  representation  of  that  particular  heaven  regarded  as  the  seat  of 
the  divine  hierarchy  in  the  primitive  traditions  of  all  Asia.  This 
was  the  abode  of  El,  or  of  El-elf/on,  "the  Most  High  God,"  whom 
Abraham  expressly  identifies  with  the  Yahveh  or  Jehovah  of  the 
Old  Testament  (Gen.  xiv.  22).  We  have  shown  the  original  ref- 
erence of  An-ki,  "  the  celestial  earth,"  to  the  same  sacred  locality 
conceived  as  the  dwelling  of  El  in  connection  with  that  of  primeval 
humanity.  It  is  through  this  Accadian  expression  that  we  are  able 
to  prove  the  existence  of  similar  ideas  at  Babylon  to  those  just 
noticed  among  the  Hebrews.  As  heretofore  cited,  we  have  the 
phrase  ll-su-par  Il-irziti  (An-Jci),  "El,  the  ornament  of  the  celes- 
tial earth."  But  a  variant  of  the  name  of  Babylon  affords  us  a  still 
more  direct  connection,  namely  Bab-il  il-irziti,  "  gate  of  the  God 
of  the  celestial  earth."  l  The  expression  Bab-il,  "  gate  of  El,"  an- 
1  Vid.  Norris,  Assyr.  Die.,  i.  p.  70. 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  229 

swers  very  nearly  to  the  Hebrew  Beth-Moad,  with  the  idea  of 
"  celestial  earth  "  attached,  all  referring  primarily  to  the  traditional 
mount  of  paradise.  These  doctrines  were  primitive,  no  doubt,  to 
the  entire  Semitic  race,  and  were  directly  associated  with  El.  Moses 
restored  them  to  their  pristine  purity.  At  Babylon  they  had 
been  perverted  in  a  measure  by  the  transfer  of  Beth-Hedi,  equal  to 
Beth-Moad,  to  the  under  world  conceived  like  the  Hades  of  Greek 
mythology.  The  Mosaic  books  contain  nothing  of  this  nature. 
Among  the  Haranites,  also,  a  corruption  had  taken  place.  The 
divine  names  Elyon  and  Shemal,  Hebrew  Semol,  appear  to  have 
referred  equally  to  the  rotating  centre  of  the  northern  heavens, 
with  which  the  "  stars  of  El,"  the  "Strong  One,"  were  directly  asso- 
ciated. But  with  Moses,  Elyon  was  not  the  "  Highest  "  in  relation 
to  El,  that  is,  was  not  superior  to  El,  since  such  a  conception  was 
polytheistic.  The  two  names  were  held  to  denote  the  one  God,  El- 
elyon,  "  El  the  Highest."  With  the  Haranites  Shemal,  answering 
to  Elyon,  was  put  for  the  pole  star,  considered  thus  as  higher,  as 
superior  to  the  stars  of  El.  In  other  words,  and  according  to  Jew- 
ish tradition,  Shemal,  English  Samael,  was  primitively  the  highest 
archangel,  but  he  aspired  to  the  rank  of  supreme  divinity,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  he  fell  from  his  first  estate,  and  became  the  chief 
of  rebellious  angels,  identified  with  Satan.1  Although  as  a  divine 
name,  Shemal  seems  to  have  pertained  to  the  early  epochs  of  Se- 
mitic development,  a  false  notion  had  been  associated  with  it  by  the 
Haranites,  and  it  was  thenceforth  rejected  by  the  Jews.  It  is  the 
same  blasphemous  idea  that  the  prophet  attributes  to  the  king  of 
Babylon,  supposing  him  to  say  in  substance  :  "  I  will  ascend  above 
the  stars  of  El,  and  seat  myself  by  the  side  of  Elyon,  the  very 
highest  in  relation  to  them"  (Is.  xiv.  13,  14).  This  was  to  put 
Elyon  higher  than  El,  and  also  to  exalt  himself  to  a  higher  estate, 
that  of  the  Haranite  Shemal,  whom  the  Hebrews  supposed  to  have 
fallen  into  the  depths  of  Sheol. 

As  before  observed,  the  Hebrews  had  preserved  the  original  and 
true  sense  of  the  Beth-Hedi,  as  relating  to  the  mount  of  paradise, 
and  thence  also  the  "  celestial  earth  "  identified  with  it.2  It  was 

1  Vid.  Chwolsohn,  Ssabier,  ii.  p.  221  ;  whose  various  extracts  from  rabbinical 
writings  are  given,  relating  to  Samael. 

2  It  is  not  to  be  doubted,  however,  that  the  Jews  of  our  Saviour's  time  had 
conceived  the  notions  of  different  paradises,  the  heavenly,  the  earthly,  and  the 


230 


HAR-MOAD. 


embodied  likewise  in  the  ea*rliest  temple  structures  of  the  valley  of 
the  Euphrates,  and  even  temples  called  Aralli  were  constructed  by 
the  Assyrian  monarchs,  which  shows  that  the  term  Aralli  put  for 
the  under  world,  or  Greek  Hades,  in  one  instance,  was  in  such  case 
a  corruption  of  the  original  notion,  placing  it  in  connection  with 
the  sacred  mount  of  the  east,  of  which  the  temples  Aralli  were 
imitations.  Our  further  investigations  relating  to  the  "celestial 
earth"  will  have  regard  to  the  primitive  notions  attached  to  this 
phrase,  attempting  to  trace  the  expansion  of  the  idea  into  the 
politico-religious  institutions  of  the  old  world.1 

infernal.  Dr.  Dillrnann  shows  that  such  was  in  fact  the  case,  and  that  some  of 
the  rabbis  identified  the  infernal  paradise  with  Gehenna  itself  (Schenkel's  Bibel- 
Lexikon,  vol.  i.  pp.  377-379.  Cf.  vol.  ii.  pp.  42-50). 

1  In  the  4th  chapter  of  La  Litanle  du  Soleil,  edited  and  translated  by  M.  Ed. 
Naville,  there  are  several  direct  allusions  to  the  pyramid  in  stages  in  connection 
with  the  sun-god,  under  the  form  of  Osiris,  or  the  nocturnal  sun.  The  region  is 
that  of  the  dead,  the  Ament,  astronomically  the  inferior  heavens,  which,  as  we 
have  shown  in  a  previous  chapter,  symbolized  the  earth,  that  is  to  say,  the  par- 
ticular earth  known  to  the  first  men,  or  the  terrestrial  paradise.  This  "  Litany 
of  the  Sun,"  inscribed  upon  the  walls  of  the  royal  tombs  at  Thebes,  dates  from 
the  period  of  Seti  I.,  and  embodies  the  cosmical  doctrines  of  the  period  ;  but 
many  passages  contain  traditional  notices  and  ideas  appertaining  to  the  earliest 
times,  preserved  in  a  greater  state  of  purity  than  even  the  corresponding  passages 
in  the  Book  of  the  Dead.  The  gods  of  the  pyramid  in  stages,  to  which  allusLn 
is  made  in  the  Litany,  bear  the  same  name  as  those  mentioned  in  the  144th  and 
147th  chapters  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead,  in  connection  with  the  Seven  Ari  or  Aris 
(vid.  Lepsius,  Todtenbuch.  Vorwart.,  p.  1C.  Cf.  De  Rouge,  Riiuel  Fune'raire,  In- 
troduction, pp.  24,  25).  This  mention  of  the  pyramid  in  stages  in  the  Litany  is 
quite  important,  and  M.  Naville  offers  the  following  comments  upon  it :  — 

"It  is  impossible  not  to  recognize  in  this  word  (Ar)  an  edifice  having  the  form 
of  a  pyramid  in  stages,  like  that  of  Sakkara.  This  class  of  constructions,  rare 
in  Egypt,  was  common  in  the  country  of  the  Euphrates,  where  the  tower  of  Bor- 
sippa  was  the  most  famous  example.  This  tower  was  consecrated  to  the  '  seven 
lights  of  the  earth,'  that  is  to  say,  to  the  seven  principal  stars.  The  gods  of  the 
pyramid  are  those  whom  we  find  called  the  Ari.  Thus,  the  144th  chapter  of  the 
Book  of  the  Dead  shows  us  that  there  were  seven  gods  having  this  name  ;  this  is, 
then,  in  accord  with  the  Babylonian  cultus,  and  we  are  able  to  recognize  in  these 
seven  divinities  the  sun,  moon,  and  five  planets.  If  at  a  later  period  a  distinct 
sanctuary  was  assigned  to  each  of  these  gods,  as  seen  in  the  Book  of  the  Dead, 
this  is  no  evidence  that  they  were  not  originally  the  gods  of  the  degrees  of  the 
pyramid.  Here,  at  least,  the  determinatives  recall  nothing  similar  to  the  repre- 
sentations in  the  144th  chapter,  but  rather  the  ancient  tradition  analogous  to  that 
of  Babylon."  {La  Litanie,  p.  93.) 

M.  Naville  follows  M.  Lenormant  in  interpreting  the  "  seven  lights  of  the 
earth,"  associated  with  the  tower  of  Borsippa,  as  the  "sun,  moon,  and  pl.inets." 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  231 

I  have  shown  in  the  present  chapter  that,  while  these  seven  luminaries  were 
doubtless  joined  in  the  cultus,  the  primary  reference  must  have  been  to  the  seven 
stars  of  the  chariot,  traditionally  associated  with  the  mount  of  paradise,  of  which 
the  pyramid  in  stages  was  an  artificial  reproduction.  One  of  the  proofs  to  this 
effect,  and  quite  conclusive,  is  that  the  "earth  "  illumed  by  these  seven  lights  is 
not  the  Ki,  or  "  geographical  earth,"  but  the  An-ki,  the  "celestial  earth,"  proved 
to  have  been  originally  one  with  the  sacred  mount,  and  that  with  which  the  seven 
stars  of  the  chariot  were  directly  connected.  But  M.  Naville  is  undoubtedly  cor- 
rect in  assimilating  the  seven  gods  of  the  Ar  to  the  seven  lights  of  the  Au-ki. 

I  have  already  insisted  upon  the  point  in  the  first  chapter  (Sec.  10)  that  the  pyr- 
amids of  Borsippa  and  Babylon,  the  most  ancient  in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates, 
embodied  the  same  traditional  ideas,  and  appertained  to  the  same  epoch,  as  the 
brick  pyramid  at  Sakkara,  the  oldest  in  Egypt.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  facts 
developed  by  M.  Naville  go  far  to  confirm  this  position.  If,  in  the  Nile  valley, 
and  at  an  early  period,  the  geometrical  pyramid  had  taken  the  place  of  that  in 
stages,  the  traditionary  conceptions,  primitively  associated  with  the  latter,  had 
been  preserved  in  the  Book  of  the  Dead,  though  partially  obscured  ;  but  in  the 
"  Litany  of  the  Sun "  these  conceptions  were  far  better  preserved,  where  we 
find  them  connected  with  the  cosmogony  and  the  mystical  doctrines  concerning 
the  future  life.  In  both  instances,  the  scene  is  laid  astronomically  in  the  inferior 
heavens,  or  the  Egyptian  Ament,  answering  to  the  Greek  Hades.  Here,  too,  we 
find  what  corresponds  perfectly  to  the  "  celestial  earth  ;  "  that  which,  in  his  ver- 
sion of  the  Litany,  M.  Naville  calls  the  Empyrean,  analogous  to  the  Elysium  of 
the  Greeks,  the  paradise  of  the  later  Jews.  It  must  be  admitted,  then,  that  the 
Egyptians  had  preserved  distinct  recollections  of  the  sacred  mount  of  the  east, 
and  of  the  notions  which  we  have. shown  were  primitively  connected  with  it.  As 
among  other  peoples,  the  Egyptians  had  transferred  all  to  the  inferior  heavens. 

I  venture  to  offer  here  one  or  two  suggestions  of  an  etymological  character, 
somewhat  hazardous  no  doubt,  but  pertaining  to  the  Egyptian  Ar,  phonetic  value 
of  the  hieroglyph  of  a  pyramid  in  stages.  According  to  M.  E.  De  Rougd,  both 
the  phonetic  value  and  the  meaning  of  "ladder,"  a  "pyramid  in  degrees,"  are 
derived  from  the  verb  Ar,  "  to  ascend"  (Chrest.  Egypt,  pt.  1,  p.  73).  Compare 
this  radical  with  the  same  phonetic  element  in  the  Semitic  Ar-arat,  name  of  a 
mountain  in  Armenia,  on  which  Noah's  ark  is  supposed  to  have  rested.  That 
the  diluvian  mount,  identified  with  that  of  paradise,  was  conceived  as  a  mountain 
of  degrees,  or  stages,  is  proved  by  the  fact  of  its  being  artificially  represented  by 
the  pyramid  in  stages,  as  heretofore  verified.  Another  proof  is,  that  the  Ac- 
cadian  monogram  for  Akkad,  when  applied  to  the  Armenian  mountain,  has  the 
reading  of  Til-la  (Lenormant,  Rep.  341).  The  first  element  Til,  or  Tul,  signifies 
"mount,  mountain,"  and  La  means  "ladder,  degree;  "  hence  Til-la  denotes  a 
mountain  in  stages,  or  degrees.  The  Ar-arat  in  Armenia  was  traditionally  called 
the  "  mount  of  the  descent  of  Noah,"  just  as  the  Hindu  Meru  was  termed  the 
"  mount  of  the  descent  of  Manu  ;  "  and  it  is  obvious  that  some  mystical  sense  is 
involved  in  these  expressions.  On  the  other  hand,  this  descent  implies  an  ascent 
also  mystical  in  character.  Again,  the  ordinary  Assyrian  term  applied  to  the 
divisions  or  stages  of  the  pyramidal  temple  is  Par-sit,  from  the  Semitic  radical 
7V/r,  poftoned  form  Bar,  signifying  the  act  of  "  cutting  or  breaking  in,  separating, 


232 


HAR-MOAD. 


dividing,  as  with  a  sword  or  plougU,"  etc. ;  hence  the  divisions  or  stages  of  the 
temple.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  element  Ar  is  involved  in  these  two  radicals  as 
P-ar  and  B-ar.  This,  however,  only  by  way  of  suggestion.  It  is  a  fact,  I  be- 
lieve, that  the  sacred  mountain  of  degrees  was  sometimes  conceived  as  a  ploughed 
mountain,  from  the  idea  of  a  vineyard  planted  upon  the  side  of  a  mountain, 
which  had  been  cut  up  into  terraces  or  stages  by  means  of  the  plough,  etc.  This 
reminds  us  that  Noah  planted  a  vineyard  after  leaving  the  ark.  We  come  now 
to  the  element  Ar  in  Ar-ya-rata,  "chariot  of  the  Aryas,"  a  name  primitively 
applied  to  Mt.  Meru,  and  from  which  the  Semitic  Ar-arat  was  derived  according 
to  MM.  Obry  and  Lenormant.  The  element  Ar-ya,  in  the  foregoing  title  of 
Meru,  like  Ar-yas,  is  that  from  which  comes  the  designation  of  the  Ar-yan  races, 
etc.  I  believe  that  the  Hindus  sometimes  gave  the  name  Ar-yas  to  the  seven 
stars  of  the  chariot,  traditionally  associated  with  Meru.  The  root  Ar,  from  which 
the  various  forms  Ar-ya,  Ar-yas,  etc.,  are  derived,  signifies  "  to  plough."  The 
English  term  earth  is  from  the  same  radical,  meaning  primitively  a  ploughed  land, 
afterwards  earth  in  general.  But  the  original  application  of  this  term  was  prob- 
ably to  Meru  itself,  the  primitive  home  of  the  Aryans;  and,  if  so,  to  the  ploughed 
mountain  of  which  the  pyramid  in  stages  was  an  imitation.  The  mountain  masses, 
rising  one  above  the  other  in  the  distance,  could  not  be  better  represented  than 
by  a  pyramid  in  stages.  Such  seems  to  be  the  conception  involved  in  the  Hebrew 
term  H-ar,  "  mountain,"  in  which  the  element  Ar  appears  again.  But  to  return 
now  to  the  Egyptian  Ar,  denoting  a  pyramid  in  stages,  which  in  Babylon  was 
regarded  as  an  imitation  of  the  mount  of  paradise.  I  cannot  but  entertain  the 
suspicion  that  this  old  Hamite  expression  was  a  technical  one,  inherited  from  the 
same  locality  as  that  designated  by  the  Aryan  Ar-ya-rata,  afterwards  corrupted 
into  the  Semitic  Ar-arat.  If  such  may  be  considered  as  having  been  the  case, 
there  can  be  no  more  question  whether  the  Egyptians  had  preserved  the  tradi- 
tions common  to  so  many  nations  relative  to  the  sacred  mount  of  paradise.  I 
make  these  suggestions,  however,  only  in  the  hope  that  some  one  better  qualified 
to  deal  with  such  matters  may  decide  respecting  their  value.  Aside  from  the 
Semitic  radicals,  such  as  H-ar,  "  mountain,"  in  the  phrase  Har-Moad,  applied  to 
the  Asiatic  Olympus,  P-ar  and  B-ar,  "  to  break  through,"  "to  cut  in,"  etc.,  I 
should  include  the  Accadian  K-ar,  "  summit,"  in  the  phrases  As-kar  and  Scan- 
dinavian As-g-ar-d  and  cuneiform  K-ar-Sak-Kurra,  all  evidently  referring  to  the 
same  locality 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   THEORY   OF  THE  ANCIENT  CIVILIZATIONS. 

SEC.  87.  In  his  description  of  the  destruction  of  Babylon  con- 
tained in  the  18th  chapter,  or  the  one  immediately  preceding  that, 
from  which  has  been  cited  the  passage  relating  to  the  fall  of  the 
Babylonian  monarch,  in  connection  with  the  Har-Moad,  or  "  moun- 
tain of  the  assembly,"  the  prophet  Isaiah  employs  language  of  a 
most  remarkable  character,  of  which  the  following  verses  will  afford 
an  example  :  — 

"  Behold,  the  day  of  the  Lord  cometb,  cruel  both  with  wrath  and  fierce  anger, 
to  lay  the  land  desolate  :  and  he  shall  destroy  the  sinners  thereof  out  of  it.  For 
the  stars  of  heaven  and  the  constellations  thereof  shall  not  give  their  light  :  the 
sun  shall  be  darkened  in  his  going  forth,  and  the  moon  shall  not  cause  her  light  to 
shine."  "Therefore  I  will  shake  the  heavens,  and  the  earth  shall  remove  out  of 
her  place,  in  the  wrath  of  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  in  the  day  of  his  fierce  anger  " 
(vv.  9,  10,  13). 

There  is  little  difference  of  opinion  among  all  judicious  critics 
as  to  the  general  import  of  this  class  of  figures  so  frequently  occur- 
ring in  Scripture,  and  the  subjoined  notes  by  Bishop  Lowth,  ap- 
pended to  the  10th  verse,  may  be  taken  as  representing  the  views 
of  the  majority  of  exegetes :  — 

"  The  Hebrew  poets,  to  express  happiness,  prosperity,  the  instau- 
ration  and  advancement  of  states,  kingdoms,  and  potentates,  make 
use  of  images  taken  from  the  most  striking  parts  of  nature,  — from 
the  heavenly  bodies,  from  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  which  they 
describe  as  shining  with  increased  splendor  and  never  setting ;  the 
moon  becomes  like  the  meridian  sun,  and  the  sun's  light  is  aug- 
mented sevenfold  (see  Isa.  xxx.  26)  ;  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth 
are  created,  and  a  brighter  age  commences.  On  the  contrary,  the 
overthrow  and  destruction  of  kingdoms  is  represented  by  opposite 
images ;  the  stars  are  obscured,  the  moon  withdraws  her  light,  and 
the  sun  shines  no  more ;  the  earth  quakes  and  the  heavens  tremble, 
and  all  things  seem  tending  to  their  original  chaos  (see  Joel  ii.  10 ; 
iii.  15,  16;  Amos  viii.  9;  Matt.  xxiv.  29)," 


234 


HAR-MOAD. 


Although  really  and  higtly  poetical,  the  language  to  which  Dr. 
Lowth  alludes  in  the  above  extract  is  not  wholly  the  product  of 
imagination,  is  not  entirely  figurative.  In  one  sense  it  is  almost 
technical,  for  it  is  based  upon  ideas  and  customs  of  a  character 
quite  ordinary.  I  refer  to  the  fundamental  conceptions  constitut- 
ing the  theory  of  the  ancient  civilizations.  For  the  most  part  the 
kingdoms  of  antiquity  were  regarded  as  astronomical  or  celestial 
earths,  and  this  fact  explains  the  origin  and  nature  of  the  lan- 
guage quoted  from  Isaiah,  and  the  various  texts  cited  by  Dr. 
Lowth  at  the  close  of  his  note.  With  the  ancients,  the  state  was 
an  expansion  of  the  idea  of  the  temple,  which  involved,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  double  conception  of  a  celestial  space  systematically 
marked  off  into  divisions,  —  put  in  direct  relation  to  a  terrestrial 
space  similarly  cut  off  and  divided.  Not  only  this,  the  state  was 
in  point  of  fact,  though  the  traditionary  origin  had  been  in  some 
instances  lost  or  forgotten,  an  expansion  of  the  idea  of  the  partic- 
ular heaven  and  earth  previously  shown  to  have  constituted  the 
actual  cosmos  or  world  as  known  to  primeval  humanity.  Each 
kingdom  was  thus  a  world,  a  heaven  and  earth,  within  itself.  At 
a  later  period  the  entire  heavens  and  earth  were  symbolically 
represented  in  the  organization  of  the  kingdom  and  the  territorial 
divisions.  But  in  the  very  earliest  epochs  I  am  inclined  to  think 
the  practice  was  more  frequent  simply  to  represent  the  heaven  and 
earth  constituting  the  traditional  paradise,  or  "  mountain  of  the 
world,"  according  to  Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce's  interpretation  of  the  phrase 
Kharsak-kurra  heretofore  cited.  The  division  of  the  territory, 
however,  in  a  manner  to  represent  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac 
was  a  practice  certainly  very  ancient. 

The  extensive  prevalence  in  antiquity  of  the  custom  of  repre- 
senting the  celestial  world  in  the  organization  of  the  kingdom  or 
empire,  is  a  fact  which  was  long  since  fully  established  by  Dr.  Bahr, 
in  his  critical  treatise  on  the  Mosaic  worship  already  referred  to  in 
these  pages.  At  the  period  when  he  wrote,  the  facts  were  not  so 
well  known  as  at  present,  bnt  later  researches  have  tended  only  to 
confirm,  and  to  place  beyond  doubt,  the  general  hypothesis  so  ably 
supported  by  him.  Such  being  the  case,  the  origin  of  the  Scripture 
phraseology  to  which  reference  has  been  made  is  quite  apparent, 
together  with  the  rules  of  exegesis  that  should  apply  to  it. 

The  question  of  the  origin  of  the  ancient  civilizations  is  one  of 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  235 

very  great  importance,  and  one  upon  which  quite  contradictory 
theories  have  been  and  are  to-day  entertained.  Perhaps  the  most 
popular  hypothesis  among  writers  at  the  present  day  is,  that  the 
theory  and  organization  of  the  states  of  antiquity  were  a  gradual 
growth  and  improvement  from  a*very  crude  and  even  savage  con- 
dition of  humanity.  I  believe  myself  able  to  produce  an  array  of 
facts  in  the  present  chapter,  sufficient  not  only  to  overthrow  com- 
pletely this  hypothesis,  but  to  show  that  the  foundations  of  the 
ancient  kingdoms  proceeded  from  grand  and  noble  ideas,  whose 
actual  genesis  may  be  traced  back  to  the  first  ages  of  humanity. 
Indeed,  the  data  already  included  in  the  previous  chapters  must  be 
regarded,  I  think,  as  affording  a  very  strong  presumption  in  favor 
of  the  view  just  expressed. 

SEC.  88.  The  first  order  of  facts  to  which  I  wish  to  call  the 
reader's  attention  appertains,  properly  speaking,  to  the  symbolical 
geography  of  the  ancients,  some  notices  relative  to  which  have  been 
heretofore  presented.  M.  Lenormant  was  cited  upon  the  singular 
system  of  geography  as  revealed  in  the  great  book  of  astrology,  com- 
piled by  the  orders  of  Sargon  the  ancient,  about  the  year  2000  B.  c. 
(Sec.  59).  He  had  made  allusion  previously  in  the  same  work  to 
this  subject  in  nearly  the  same  terms,  yet  so  far  different  that  I 
desire  to  reproduce  them  here :  — 

"  It  would  be  curious  to  devote  a  study  to  the  geographical  sys- 
tem of  this  book  (of  astrology),  which  indicates  in  itself  an  epoch 
extremely  remote,  and  when  the  knowledge  of  the  Chaldaeans  out- 
side their  own  country  was  quite  limited.  The  rgdacteurs,  in  effect, 
conceive  the  country  of  Akkad  as  situated  in  a  central  position  be- 
tween four  stranger  countries,  which  correspond  to  the  four  cardinal 
points,  to  the  4  four  regions  of  heaven,'  of  which  the  ancient  Chal- 
dsean  monarchs  styled  themselves  kings  (sar  kibrativ  arbaiv),  cor- 
responding to  the  primitive  Cushite  tetrarchy  (Gen.  x.  10)."  l 

It  is  to  be  noticed,  first,  that  the  author  attributes  this  curious 
geographical  scheme  apparently  to  the  ignorance  of  the  Chaldaeans. 
He  corrects  himself  in  his  second  reference  to  the  same  subject  as 
heretofore  quoted,  styling  it  a  "  symbolical  system  "  and  "  inspired 
by  religious  conceptions,"  in  connection  with  which  he  refers  to 
similar  systems  prevailing  in  other  countries,  schemes  so  exactly 
similar,  in  fact,  that  he  finds  himself  compelled  to  refer  the  origin 

1  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  27. 


236 


HAR-MOAD. 


of  all  of  them  to  primitive*  tradition  respecting  the  sacred  mount 
of  paradise,  with  which  a  like  scheme  was  associated.  The  author's 
fine  archaeological  tact  and  immense  antiquarian  lore  rarely  permit 
him  to  be  deceived  in  the  end.  He  has  stated,  in  fact,  in  the  pas- 
sages before  cited,  the  real  nature  and  origin  of  this  geographical 
system.  But  in  the  extract  here  produced  he  yields  unguardedly 
to  the  spirit,  so  prevalent  among  certain  writers  of  our  day,  which 
attributes  to  the  ignorance  of  the  ancients  that  whose  real  import 
and  significance  they  are  unwilling  to  take  the  trouble  to -ascertain. 
It  was  customary  with  the  nations  of  antiquity  to  consider  their 
country  as  the  centre  of  the  world,  and  especially  the  national  tem- 
ple as  the  central  point  of  the  universe.  Neither  vanity  nor  igno- 
rance suggested  this  notion.  It  appertained  to  a  symbolico-religious 
system  of  geography  that  had  been  inherited  from  the  great  Olym- 
pus of  all  Asia,  of  which  the  national  temples  were  designed  as 
artificial  reproductions.  The  sacred  books  of  the  ancients  some- 
times allude  to  this  mountain  as  the  root  of  all  others,  and  to  the 
sacred  river  that  watered  it  as  the  source  of  all  the  rivers  of  the 
world.  It  was  truly  the  root  of  all  the  holy  mountains,  and  the 
source  of  all  the  sacred  rivers,  and  such  in  point  of  fact  is  the  idea 
intended.  Such  notions  were  by  no  means  the  offspring  of  igno- 
rance, but  of  a  widespread  symbolism,  whose  origin  is  to  be  traced 
to  the  primeval  abode  of  humanity. 

M.  Lenormant  refers  to  the  primitive  Cushite  tetrarchy,  of  which 
Moses  has  the  following  notice,  in  connection  also  with  that  of 
Asshur :  "  Whence  it  is  said,  Even  as  Nirnrod  the  mighty  hunter 
before  the  Lord,  and  the  beginning  of  his  kingdom  was  Babel,  and 
Erech,  and  Accad,  and  Calneh,  in  the  land  of  Shinar.  Out  of  that 
land  went  forth  Asshur,  and  builded  Nineveh,  and  the  city  Reho- 
both,  and  Calah,  and  Resen,  between  Nineveh  and  Calah  "  (Gen. 
x.  9-12).  It  is  generally  understood,  I  believe,  among  Assyrian 
scholars  that  these  four  cities,  forming  the  basis  of  Nimrod's  king- 
dom, were  conceived  as  a  sort  of  mystical  square,  or  tetrarchy,  the 
notion  of  which  had  been  traditionally  inherited,  as  M.  Lenormant 
supposes,  from  the  paradisiacal  mountain.  Four  other  cities  seem 
to  constitute  the  foundation  of  Assyria,  or  the  kingdom  of  Asshur, 
and  it  is  probable  that  a  similar  mystical  idea  attached  to  them. 
The  ancient  kings  of  Chaldaea,  whose  inscriptions  have  been  pre- 
served to  us,  appear  to  have  inherited  the  same  conception,  this 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  237 

being  the  interpretation  attached  by  M.  Lenormant  to  the  fre- 
quently occurring  phrase,  sar  kibrativ  arbaiv,  "  king  of  the  four- 
regions."  Precisely  analogous  ideas  had  been  handed  down  in  the 
line  of  Shem,  as  well  as  that  of  Ham,  according  to  the  opinions  of 
Drs.  Tuch  and  Herzog,  relative  to  the  import  of  the  genealogy  of 
Aram.  We  note  the  following  observations  in  an  article  attributed 
to  Dr.  Herzog  :  — 

"  Finally,  in  the  catalogue  of  nations  (Gen.  x.  22,  24),  Aram  ap- 
pears after  Elam,  Assur,  Arphaxad,  Lud,  as  Shem's  fifth  son,  and  his 
sons  are  :  Uz,  Hul,  Gether,  Mash.  Now  Dr.  Tuch  interprets  these 
four  names  as  the  '  termini  of  the  Arameans.'  Uz,  the  southern, 
against  the  Edomites  and  Arabs ;  Hul,  the  western,  against  the 
Canaanites  ;  the  unknown  Gether  (probably  Gutium  of  the  cunei- 
form texts),  perhaps  the  eastern,  against  Elam  and  Assur ;  lastly 
Mash,  undoubtedly  the  northern,  against  the  Japhetic  Armenians."  l 

Thus,  Aram  answers  in  this  scheme  to  Akkad  in  the  system  of 
Sargon  the  ancient.  We  come  now  to  still  other  proofs  of  the 
existence  of  the  same  arrangement.  Rev.  George  Rawlinson,  after 
having  described  the  natural  division  of  the  country  of  Chakbea, 
proceeds  to  remark :  — 

"  We  have  no  evidence  that  the  natural  division  of  Chaldeea  here 
indicated  was  ever  employed  in  ancient  times  for  political  purposes. 
The  division  which  appears  to  have  been  so  employed  was  one  into 
northern  and  southern  Ohaldsea,  the  first  extending  from  Hit  to  a 
little  below  Babylon,  the  second  from  Niffer  to  the  shores  of  the 
Persian  Gulf.  In  each  of  these  districts  we  have  a  sort  of  tetrarchy, 
or  special  preeminence  of  four  cities,  such  as  appears  to  be  indicated 
by  the  words:  'The  beginning  of  his  kingdom  was  Babel,  and 
Erech,  and  Accad,  and  Calneh,  in  the  land  of  Shinar.' "  2 

The  division  into  upper  and  lower  Chaldaea,  having  no  corre- 
spondence with  the  natural  characteristics  of  the  country,  taken  espe- 
cially in  connection  with  a  tetrarchy  in  each  district,  has  every  ap- 
pearance of  a  symbolical  reference  to  the  upper  and  lower  portions 
of  the  sphere,  separated  by  an  equatorial  line.  This  will  appear 
the  more  probable  if  we  call  to  mind  the  fact  that  the  Hamites  of 
Egypt  are  known  to  have  symbolized  the  two  worlds,  or  two  chief 
divisions  of  the  cosmos,  by  upper  and  lower  Egypt. 

1  Protest.  Ecd.  Encyc.,  i.  p.  227,  art.  "Aram."     Cf.  Tuch,  Commentar  u.  d. 
Genesis,  p.  204. 

2  Five  Monarchies,  i.  p.  15. 


HAR-MOAD. 

Passing  now  to  India,  we  find  a  system  of  political  divisions  the 
same  as  that  pertaining  to  Akkad  and  Aram,  a  notice  of  which  is 
thus  given  by  M.  Obry :  — 

"  It  is  necessary  to  remark  that  after  their  installation  in  Hindu- 
stan, taken  in  the  widest  sense,  the  Aryans  of  India  divided  this 
country  into  four  regions,  east,  south,  west,  and  north,  .  .  .  and 
that  they  placed  between  them  a  middle  country  .  .  .  all  in  imita- 
tion of  the  four  Maha-dvipas  and  of  the  (central)  Madhya-dvipa 
of  the  entire  earth.  I  add  in  proof  of  this  imitation  that,  after  the 
dismemberment  of  Indra-prastha  or  Delhi,  the  four  chiefs,  or  Radjas, 
who  partitioned  Hindustan  among  themselves  replaced  the  great 
king  who  turns  the  golden  wheel,  assuming  titles  similar  to  those 
which  a  Buddhist  tradition  (of  uncertain  date)  attributes  to  the 
kings  of  the  four  Maha-dvipas,  China,  India,  Persia,  and  the  Chi- 
nese Turkestan,  being  an  extension  of  the  revolving  circle  or  wheel 
of  the  four  regions." l 

M.  Lenormant  cites  the  foregoing  passage,  mentions  a  like  politi- 
cal division  of  ancient  Iran  or  Persia,  comparing  all  with  the  primi- 
tive Cushite  tetrarchy,  deriving  them  equally  from  a  primeval  tradi- 
tion centring  in  Meru  of  the  Hindus,  the  Albordj  of  the  Persians, 
both  identical  with  the  Gan-Eden  of  Genesis.2  The  existence,  then, 
of  a  symbolical  system  of  geography,  inherited  from  common  tradi- 
tion, inspired  by  religious  conceptions,  and  prevailing  among  nations 
widely  separated  in  antiquity,  must  be  regarded  as  an  established 
fact.  The  division  of  the  world  into  nine  earths  by  the  Chinese, 
and-  of  their  own  country  into  nine  provinces,  evidently  in  imita- 
tion of  the  cosmos,  was  shown  from  the  statements  of  Dr.  Biihr  in 
a  previous  chapter. 

SEC.  89.  In  the  examples  of  political  divisions  thus  far  pre- 
sented, although  their  symbolico-religious,  as  well  as  traditional 
character  admits  of  no  question,  and  notwithstanding  a  design  to 
represent  the  cosmos  is  quite  apparent  in  many  of  them,  there  is  no 
direct,  positive  proof  inherent  that  a  celestial  space  was  placed  in 
relation  to  the  terrestrial  space  thus  marked  off  and  divided.  Of 
this,  however,  there  does  not  exist  much  reason  for  doubt ;  first, 
since  the  scheme  of  four  countries  surrounding  a  central  one,  the 
latter  conceived  as  centre  of  the  universe,  was  uniformly  arranged 
with  particular  reference  to  the  cardinal  points,  and  was  derived 
from  the  Asiatic  Olympus,  with  which  a  celestial  or  -astronomical 
1  Du  Berceau,  etc.,  p.  47.  2  Frag,  de  Berose,  pp.  321-323. 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  239 

element  was  always  associated.  Secondly,  we  know  that  in  the 
case  of  Akkad  and  the  four  countries  surrounding  it  twelve  stars 
were  connected  with  each  of  the  five  regions  named.  In  his  second 
allusion  to  the  geography  of  Akkad,  as  cited  by  us  (Sec.  59),  M. 
Lenormant  refers  to  a  well-known  cuneiform  text  where,  as  he  ob- 
serves, "  twelve  stars  preside  over  the  destinies  of  each  of  these 
regions,  and  the  influences  exerted  upon  them  during  each  month 
are  described."  l  The  text  cited  is  quite  fragmentary,  but  we  have 
one  list  of  asterisms  styled  :  12  mul-nus  mat  akkad  ki,  "  the  twelve 
stars  of  Akkad  ;  "  and  another  entitled :  12  mul-nus  mat  martu  ki, 
"  the  twelve  stars  of  the  west  or  of  Phoenicia."  In  its  perfect 
state,  the  tablet  appears  to  have  assigned  a  definite  series  of  twelve 
asterisms  to  each  of  the  five  regions,  of  which  Akkad  formed  the 
centre.  Thus,  we  have  the  best  of  reasons  for  the  supposition  that 
it  was  customary  to  connect  with  the  geographical  scheme  of  five 
terrestrial  regions  a  definite  reference  to  the  stellar  world  placed  in 
immediate  relation  to  it.  These  mystical  divisions,  therefore,  were 
in  the  strict  sense  celestial  or  heavenly  earths,  intended  to  represent 
or  reproduce  the  original  cosmos  to  which  universal  tradition  per- 
tained. Each  of  these  countries  was,  for  itself,  a  particular  heaven 
and  earth,  modeled  after  the  sacred  mount,  reputed  abode  of  the 
first  men.  The  antiquity  to  which,  without  any  doubt,  we  must 
assign  the  geographic  scheme  of  the  first  Sargon,  and  the  primitive 
character  of  that  of  which  Aram  formed  the  central  region,  as 
already  noticed,  must  be  regarded  as  sufficient  proof  that  these  sym- 
bolical ideas  were  fundamental  in  the  theory  of  the  ancient  civiliza- 
tions. 

But  there  are  numerous  instances  in  antiquity  where  the  terri- 
torial divisions  had  an  especial  reference  to  the  number  twelve  ;  and 
in  all  such  cases  we  may  be  quite  sure,  considering  the  conformity 
of  the  notion  to  that  involved  in  Sargon's  system,  that  there  was 
a  direct  intended  relation  to  the  twelve  zodiacal  constellations. 
Although  Dr.  Bahr's  reference  to  the  four  castes  in  the  passage 
cited  below  appears  to  me  doubtful,  the  numerous  instances  cited 
involving  the  number  twelve  must  be  held  to  establish  the  principle, 
namely,  that  it  was  customary  in  antiquity  to  arrange  the  terrestrial 

1  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  321.  The  tablet  referred  to  will  constitute  the  subject  of 
a  special  study  in  the  sequel  of  the  present  treatise.  It  is  published  in  2d  Kawl. 
PI.  49,  No.  1,  Obs. 


240 


HAR-MOAD. 


kingdom  in  a  manner  to  represent  the  celestial  world,  divided  ac- 
cording to  the  zodiacal  constellations  or  signs.  The  author  is  cor- 
rect, also,  in  assuming  a  close  relation  between  the  numbers  four 
and  twelve.  The  four-sided  plot,  in  the  form  of  a  square,  was 
most  frequently  chosen  to  represent  the  zodiacal  divisions,  three 
signs,  like  the  three  gates  of  the  holy  city  of  the  Revelator,  being 
assigned  to  each  side  of  the  square.  The  passage  in  which  the 
writer  just  alluded  to  musters  so  many  examples  in  proof  of  his 
theory  is  as  follows :  — 

44  Since  the  stars  were  considered,  not  only  as  animated,  but  ac- 
tually as  divinities,  so  the  starry  heaven  was  conceived  as  a  celestial 
city,  or  as  a  heavenly  kingdom  ;  and  since  this  kingdom,  upon  which 
all  terrestrial  life  and  existence  depended,  was  arranged  in  twelve 
divisions,  it  constituted  really  the  type  for  the  order  and  arrange- 
ment of  the  cities  and  kingdoms  of  the  earth,  or  the  lower  cosmos. 
Hence  the  division  of  the  people  and  of  the  territory  according  to 
the  number  twelve.  The  king  or  chief  ruler  of  the  state  repre- 
sented the  highest  divinity  or  the  sun,  and  was  at  the  head  of  the 
twelve  tribes  or  races,  over  each  of  which  a  subordinate  ruler  was 
placed,  answering  to  each  division  of  the  zodiacal  land.  This  ar- 
rangement proceeds  on  the  same  principle  as  that  of  the  division  of 
the  population  into  four  castes,  namely,  the  representation  of  the 
order  of  the  universe,  although  the  partition  according  to  the  num- 
ber twelve  appertains  rather  to  the  heavens  as  its  type  than  to  the 
entire  cosmos.  Some  examples  may  be  cited  here,  and  we  begin 
with  the  east.  The  successors  of  the  Chinese  Emperor  Yao  report 
that  he  installed  twelve  mandarins  as  rulers  over  the  empire,  after 
having  divided  it  into  four  parts,  according  to  the  directions  of  the 
cardinal  points.  We  find  from  the  Mosaic  narrative  (Gen.  xvii.  20  ; 
xxv.  16)  that  the  Arabians  were  divided  into  twelve  tribes  proceed- 
ing from  as  many  ancestral  heads ;  and  in  the  time  of  Mahomet, 
the  Saracens  and  Nabatseans  formed  twelve  tribes,  to  each  of  which 
a  division  of  the  zodiac  was  dedicated.  A  like  division  existed  in 
Persia.  The  imperial  palace  inclosed  a  public  court  divided  into 
four  parts  for  the  young  men,  the  overseers,  the  men,  and  the  an- 
cients, over  each  of  which  divisions  twelve  archons  ruled.  Egypt 
also  in  ancient  times  was  partitioned  into  twelve  chief  provinces, 
connected  with  the  division  of  the  population  into  four  castes. 
Even  the  division  into  thirty-six  nomes,  already  mentioned,  was 
only  an  expansion  of  the  earlier  system,  being  an  imitation  of  the 
thirty-six  heavenly  decans,  three  to  each  of  the  twelve  zodiacal 
signs.  According  to  an  ancient  tradition  the  populations  of  interior 
Africa,  the  Ashantees  with  others,  constituted  twelve  races.  With 
the  Greeks  this  system  was  very  common.  Twelve  tribes  formed 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  241 

the  confederation  of  the  original  populations  of  Delphi ;  there  were 
the  twelve  cities  of  the  lonians  of  Asia ;  twelve  cities  of  the 
Achaeans  of  the  Peloponnesus  ;  the  twelve  communities  of  Attica, 
of  the  Cecrops ;  also  the  twelve  phylarchs  or  phratries  of  Athens, 
proceeding  from  the  four  original  races.  The  highest  tribunal,  that 
of  the  Areopagus,  consisted  primitively  of  twelve  members,  and 
twelve  chiefs  of  cities  were  originally  associated  with  the  king  by 
the  Phaeacians.  So,  too,  among  the  Etruscans,  and  their  neighbors 
the  Romans,  this  arrangement  according  to  twelve  prevailed.  There 
were  the  twelve  Etruscan  cities,"  etc.1 

SEC.  90.  The  author  then  proceeds  to  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel, 
and  to  the  frequent  occurrence  of  this  number  in  the  Mosaic  ritual 
generally.  In  the  majority  of  the  instances  cited  in  the  foregoing 
extract,  the  writer  is  perfectly  correct  according  to  our  best  infor- 
mation at  the  present  day ;  and  the  examples,  being  drawn  from 
the  most  widely  separated  quarters  of  the  old  world,  render  it  im- 
possible to  entertain  a  doubt  that  the  principle  involved  was  fun- 
damental in  the  theory  of  the  ancient  civilizations.  The  ancient 
kingdoms  were  regarded  generally  as  celestial  or  astronomical 
earths ;  as  imitations,  in  fact,  of  the  order  and  arrangements  of  the 
heavens.  But  it  is  necessary  to  introduce  here  another  passage,  in 
order  to  complete  Dr.  Bahr's  view  of  the  underlying  ideas  involved 
in  the  politico-religious  institutions  of  antiquity  :  — 

"  It  is  a  fact  upon  which  no  doubt  can  be  entertained  that  the 
ancient  systems  of  worship  did  not  grow  out  of  the  state  regula- 
tions, as  if  the  state  and  the  political  ordinances  had  a  prior  ex- 
istence to  the  religious  institutions ;  on  the  contrary,  the  political 
organizations  were  modeled  entirely  according  to  religious  ideas. 
Nor  was  it  a  fact,  after  a  ruler  had  been  established  and  the  civil 
policy  had  been  formed,  that  these  notions  were  transferred  to  a 
divinity,  the  conception  of  an  earthly  kingdom  giving  rise  to  that 
of  a  divine  government ;  but  rather  was  the  notion  of  a  divine  ruler 
the  origin  of  that  of  a  temporal  one.  What  God  is  for  the  entire 
world,  such  was  the  earthly  monarch  conceived  for  his  individual 
kingdom,  namely,  a  miniature  divinity  who  dwelt  and  ruled  on 
earth,  just  as  God  dwells  and  rules  in  the  heavens.  Indeed,  the 
order  and  arrangement  of  the  heavens,  the  notion  of  a  heavenly  and 
divine  government,  constituted  in  the  minds  of  the  people  of  the 
east  the  originals  of  which  the  institutions  of  this  lower  world  were 
but  imitations,  and  it  was  for  this  reason  that  they  were  thought  to 
possess  the  stamp  of  divinity  and  the  sanctions  of  religion.  It  was 

1  Symbolilc,  i.  pp.  203,  204. 


242 


HAR-MOAD. 


for  these  reasons,  likewise,  that  monarchs  were  frequently  adored 
under  the  same  forms  as  the  deity  himself  ;  but  the  divine  worship 
was  never  borrowed  from  that  of  kings."  1 

The  foregoing  statements  by  Dr.  Bahr  are  extremely  important, 
and  if  they  are  to  be  admitted  as  correct,  go  far  to  establish  the 
actual  theory  of  the  civilizations  of  the  old  world.  The  assumed 
priority  of  religious  institutions,  or  those  of  a  politico  -  religious 
nature,  to  those  of  a  purely  civil  character,  seems  to  be  fully  justi- 
fied by  known  facts.  No  class  of  official  characters  were  more  primi- 
tive than  the  ancient  priest-kings,  whose  general  history  and  func- 
tions were  traced  in  our  third  chapter.  The  well-known  fact  that 
sacerdotal  and  civil  functions  were  combined  in  these  personages 
implies  that  religious  ideas  exercised  a  potent  influence  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  primitive  institutions  on  earth.  But  we  have  a 
proof  even  more  conclusive  than  this,  in  the  fact  that  the  form  of 
government  in  Egypt,  prior  to  the  most  ancient  civil  dynasties 
headed  by  Menes,  was  properly  speaking  a  theocracy.  In  Dr.  Henri 
Brugsch's  "  History  of  Egypt,"  based  upon  the  results  of  modern 
investigations,  he  makes  the  following  observations  as  cited  by  M. 
Le*on  Carre* :  — 

u  We  have  no  historical  tradition  relative  to  the  form  of  the  first 
government  of  the  Egyptians,  but  everything  tends  to  the  belief 
that  it  was  a  theocracy,  that  is,  a  form  of  the  state  where  the  priests 
govern  and  administer  the  laws  of  the  country."2 

That  which  confirms  the  opinion  here  expressed  by  Dr.  Brugsch 
is  the  fact,  which  is  now  perfectly  verified,  that  the  ancient  nomes 
or  provinces,  into  which  the  territory  of  Egypt  was  divided  under 
the  monarchy,  were  primitively  of  a  strictly  religious  character. 
This  was  affirmed  some  years  since  by  Dr.  Uhlernann,  and  recently 
M.  Mariette-Bey  has  confirmed  the  statement  as  follows  :  — 

"  The  division  of  Egypt  into  nomes,  or  provinces,  had  for  its 
basis  an  anterior  division  into  religious  districts."  3 

The  civilization  of  Egypt,  if  we  leave  aside  the  question  of  that 
of  Babylon,  was  the  most  ancient  of  any  at  present  known.  Yet 
the  beginning  of  this  was  a  theocracy,  and  the  nomes  were  a  reli- 

1  Symbolik,  i.  p.  11. 

2  V 'Ancien  Orient,  etc.,  t.  i.  p.  24. 

8  Musee  a  Boulaq,  p.  101.  Cf.  Uhlemann,  HancJb.  d.  JEgyptischen  Alterthums- 
kunde,  b.  iii.  pp.  66,  67. 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  243 

gious  inheritance  from  an  epoch  anterior  to  the  first  dynasty.  In 
the  valley  of  the  Euphrates,  it  is  certain  that  religious  ideas  exer- 
cised a  powerful  influence  from  the  first  ages.  The  pyramidal  tem- 
ples of  Babylon  and  Borsippa,  whose  construction  dated  from  the 
earliest  traditionary  period,  sufficiently  evince  by  their  character,  as 
already  partly  explained  by  us,  the  order  of  ideas  which  were  cur- 
rent with  the  founders.  Dr.  Bahr's  statements,  then,  in  the  last 
extract  cited  from  him,  must  be  regarded  as  substantially  correct, 
and  those  of  the  first  quotation  are  mostly  so,  according  to  our  pre- 
sent knowledge. 

SEC.  91.  It  was  stated  in  a  previous  section  that  upper  and  lower 
Egypt  were  taken  as  symbolical  representations  of  the  two  prin- 
cipal divisions  of  the  cosmos,  or  heaven  and  earth.  This  seems  to 
be  proved  by  the  subjoined  remarks  of  M.  Chabas,  relative  to  the 
mystical  region  called  Sutensinen  :  — 

"  Sutensinen  was  otherwise  the  theatre  of  the  triumph  of  Osiris 
(over  his  enemy  Set  or  Typlion)  ;  and  this  god  receives  there  the 
double  crown,  which  symbolizes  the  royalty  ot  upper  and  lower 
Egypt.  He  dies  there  and  is  raised  again  under  the  form  of  the 
beneficent  soul.  At  this  moment  the  organization  of  the  two  worlds, 
that  is  to  say,  the  two  Egypts^  and  their  union  under  one  sceptre 
is  definitely  accomplished.  This  important  event  appertains  thus 
to  the  divine  dynasties,  or  to  the  heroic  times  of  Egypt ;  and  Menes, 
the  first  human  king  whose  name  has  been  transmitted  to  us,  re- 
ceives properly  the  title  of  4  king  of  upper  and  lower  Egypt.'  "  l 

Osiris  is  the  nocturnal  sun,  the  sun  of  the  primordial  night  of 
chaos,  and  his  renewal  in  the  region  of  Sutensinen,  or  the  lower 
hemisphere,  was  a  type  of  the  organization  of  the  two  worlds,  hea- 
ven and  earth,  to  which  upper  and  lower  Egypt  were  assimilated. 
The  hieroglyphic  expression  denoting  these  divisions  is  Ta-ui^ 
explained  by  Dr.  Brugsch,  u  the  two  worlds,  upper  and  lower 
Egypt."  2  These  conceptions,  as  will  be  seen,  do  not  appertain  to 
comparatively  late  epochs  ;  they  were  primitive  in  the  Nile  val- 
ley, and  belonged  to  a  system  absolutely  anterior  to  the  first  dy- 
nasty. We  see  here  the  notion  of  a  terrestrial  kingdom  modeled 

1  Les  Papyrus  hieratique  de  Berlin,  p.  19. 

2  Grammaire  hieroglyphique,  p.  5.     For  additional  proof  that  the  double  crown 
symbolized  the  sovereignty  of  the  two  worlds,  understood  cosmically  as  well  as  of 
the  two  Egypts,  consult  M.  E.  Grebaut, "  Hynme  a  Ammon-Ra"  (Revue  ArcJie- 
ologique,  Paris,  1873,  p.  386,  note  2. 


244 


HAR-MOAU. 


expressly  upon  the  principles*  of  cosmogony,  organized  in  a  manner 
to  represent  the  sphere.  Upper  and  lower  Egypt,  according  to  this 
scheme,  with  the  thirty-six  nomes  corresponding  to  the  thirty-six 
heavenly  decans,  was  literally  "a  celestial  earth,"  judged  by  the 
meaning  obviously  involved  in  this  phrase.  The  classic  authors 
repeatedly  assert  that  these  nomes  were  intended  to  represent  the 
decans,  and  the  statement  has  been  made  to  this  effect  by  modern 
investigators.  I  am  not  aware  of  any  list  of  the  decans  recovered 
from  the  monuments  which  can  be  assigned  to  a  period  much  earlier 
than  the  twelfth  dynasty.  That  the  Egyptian  sphere  dates  from 
an  era  far  more  ancient  than  this  admits  of  no  doubt.  Its  particu- 
lar 'division  into  thirty-six  decans,  instead  of  the  ordinary  twelve 
signs,  was  possibly  not  primitive.  Nevertheless,  it  is  obvious  that 
the  Egyptian  empire  was  modeled  after  the  sphere  from  the  first. 
This  is  proved  by  the  remarks  of  M.  Chabas  just  cited.  Some 
authors  affirm  that  this  country  was  at  one  time  divided  into  twelve 
provinces  in  imitation  of  the  twelve  zodiacal  constellations.  As 
regards  the  nomes,  they  were  doubtless  primitive.  M.  Mariette- 
Bey  reads  the  names  of  six  of  them  in  a  tomb  belonging  to  the 
sixth  dynasty,  and  his  theory  of  their  original  religious  character 
tends  to  the  conclusion  that  they  appertained  to  the  period  of  the 
theocracy.  Their  number  varied  at  different  times  ;  it  is  probable, 
however,  that  the  typical  number  corresponded  to  the  decans,  or 
perhaps  to  the  forty-eight  primitive  constellations.  In  matters 
appertaining  to  such  an  extreme  antiquity  it  is  usually  very  difficult 
to  settle  beyond  question  all  the  details,  and  such  is  the  case  relative 
to  the  matter  of  the  nomes  and  decans.  It  is  enough  if  we  prove 
the  existence  of  the  ground  conception,  the  assimilation  of  the  two 
Egypts  to  the  upper  and  lower  hemisphere,  to  have  been  actually 
primitive. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  offer  more  evidence  in  verification  of  the 
fact  that  the  ancient  kingdoms  were  regarded  as  astronomical  or 
celestial  earths,  and  that  this  conception  was  fundamental  in  the 
theory  of  the  ancient  civilizations.  We  have  dwelt  longer  upon  the 
archaic  ideas  prevailing  in  the  Nile  valley,  since  the  Egyptian  civil- 
ization, so  far  as  existing  monuments  afford  definite  proof,  was  the 
most  primitive  of  any  known  to  us.  It  cannot  be  objected,  there- 
fore, that  the  notion  of  a  celestial  earth  as  a  fundamental  doctrine 
of  the  old  world  appertained  only  to  comparatively  late  epochs.  It 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  245 

was  ancient,  and  the  most  ancient  of  any  dogma  known  pertaining 
to  the  institutions  of  antiquity.  More  than  this,  it  had  been  inher- 
ited from  tradition  even  by  the  Egyptians.  Similar  ideas  prevailed 
in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  at  the  founding  of  Babel,  as  proved 
by  the  mystical  titles  applied  to  the  pyramidal  temples,  such  as, 
"  foundation  of  the  celestial  earth,"  and  "  seven  lights  of  the  celes- 
tial earth."  These  conceptions,  at  an  epoch  so  very  remote,  had 
not  been  imported  from  Egypt.  On  the  contrary,  the  proofs  are 
abundant  that  they  had  been  brought  from  the  far  east ;  that  for  the 
Cushites  of  Babylon  and  the  Hamites  of  Egypt,  in  fact,  the  doctrines 
of  which  there  is  here  question  were  a  traditional  inheritance  from 
a  civilization  which  the  world  has  forgotten,  that  of  which  the  great 
Asiatic  Olympus  formed  the  original  centre.  We  see  now,  in  the 
light  of  the  facts  which  have  been  presented,  the  original  import  of 
those  singular  locutions  employed  by  those  of  high  antiquity.  The 
monarch  was  accustomed  to  style  himself  "  son  of  the  sun."  The 
Chinese  regarded  their  kingdom  as  the  ""celestial  .empire."  The 
Chinese  emperor  was  the  "  regent  of  the  nine  earths,"  in  the  same 
sense  that  the  Egyptian  monarch  was  "  king  of  the  two  worlds," 
and  the  ancient  Chaldsean  ruler44 king  of  the  four  regions."  It 
was  not  ignorance,  nor  was  it  vanity,  that  prompted  these  expres- 
sions at  the  first ;  they  had  their  origin  in  the  profound  symbolism 
which  was  inherent  in  the  political  and  religious  institutions  of  high 
antiquity.  Every  kingdom  was  a  celestial  earth,  a  cosmos,  a  world 
within  itself.  The  process  of  founding  it  was  assimilated  to  that  of 
creating  the  world,  and  was  thus  but  the  creation  of  a  44  new  hea- 
ven and  earth,"  after  the  model  of  the  "  first  heaven  and  earth,"  to 
which  all  the  traditions  pertained.  The  internal  organization  of 
the  state  and  the  divisions  of  the  national  domain  were  arranged 
with  special  reference  to  the  same  leading  idea.  Nature,  the  hea- 
vens, the  universe,  — these  were  the  models  according  to  which  the 
foundations  of  the  ancient  empires  were  laid.  Nevertheless,  the 
original  idea  was  a  traditional  one,  derived  from  the  particular  hea- 
ven and  earth  known  to  the  first  men ;  and  this  fact  is  one  which 
should  never  be  forgotten.  It  is  the  great  fact  upon  which  Dr. 
Bahr  never  insisted  as  he  should  have  done,  and  probably  would 
have  done,  if  he  had  possessed  the  advantages  afforded  by  more 
modern  researches.  It  was  impossible  in  his  day  to  prove  that  the 
civilizations  of  the  old  world  had  a  genealogy,  and  could  be  traced 


246 


HAR-MOAD. 


to  the  birthplace  of  humanity  for  the  origin  of  their  fundamental 
ideas.  But  all  the  evidences  now  before  us  plainly  indicate  that 
such  was  the  case,  and  there  is  much  more  to  come  having  a  like 
tendency. 

SEC.  92.  According  to  the  Hindu  conceptions,  the  celestial  Gan- 
ges, regarded  as  original  source  of  the  river  of  paradise,  poured  its 
waters  upon  the  summit  of  Mount  Meru,  which  descended  from 
thence  through  the  three  worlds,  in  each  of  which  the  waters  were 
gathered  into  a  single  source,  from  whence  they  were  divided  again 
into  four  branches,  flowing  toward  the  four  cardinal  regions ;  the 
Buddhists,  however,  as  heretofore  stated,  conceiving  them  to  flow 
toward  the  intermediate  points  of  the  compass.1  The  Aryans  of 
Persia  had  a  similar  notion  connected  with  their  river  Avanda, 
which  must  have  been  conceived  as  having  a  celestial  source, 
according  to  the  following  text  of  the  Zend-Avesta:  "I  invoke,  I 
celebrate  the  height,  the  divine  summit,  source  of  waters,  and  the 
water  bestowed  by  Mazda  ; "  to  which  M.  Carre*  adds  the  note : 
16  This  source  is  the  Arduissur  (or  Avanda),  at  the  summit  of  the 
sacred  mountain,  the  Bordj  (Albordj),  from  whence  issue  all  the 
waters  that  flow  upon  the  earth."  2  Among  the  Chinese,  the  con- 
stellation Tsing,  "  a  well,"  identical  with  Gemini  of  our  sphere, 
was  regarded  as  the  source  of  heavenly  waters  ;  hence  the  name 
often  applied  to  this  asterism  Tien- Tsing,  "  the  celestial  wells."  3 
This  constellation  was  associated  with  the  sacred  mountain,  as  was 
previously  shown.  I  proceed  to  show  now  the  existence  of  similar 
ideas  at  Babylon. 

The  inscriptions  usually  cited  by  cuneiform  scholars,  as  1st,  2d, 
and  3d  Mich.,  are  deeds  or  grants  of  land,  donated  by  royal  per- 
sonages to  certain  distinguished  individuals,  and  are  evidently  of  a 
typical  character  for  this  class  of  documents.4  They  were  inscribed 
upon  conical  stones,  and  these  stones  served  as  landmarks  or  boun- 
daries. Their  real  date  is  ascertained  to  be  about  the  year  1200 
B.  C.  Around  the  upper  surface  of  the  cones  are  represented  the 
symbols  of  the  divinities  whose  names  occur  in  the  inscriptions,  and 
together  with  these,  various  constellations  that  undoubtedly  existed 

1  Vid.  M.  Obry,  Du  Berceau,  pp.  19,  20. 

2  L'Ancien  Orient,  t.  i.  p.  341,  text  and  note. 

8  Vid.  Schlegel,  Uranographie  Chinois,  p.  406. 
4  Vid.  1st  Rawl.  PI.  70;  3d  Rawl.  PI.  41-44. 


THE  CELESTIAL   EARTH.  247 

upon  the  Babylonian  sphere,  some  of  them  zodiacal,  but  the  major- 
ity of  them  extra-zodiacal.1  For  myself,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say 
that  the  upper  surface  of  these  cones  was  intended  as  an  astrono- 
mical representation  of  the  sacred  mount  of  paradise,  together  with 
the  primary  divisions  of  the  sphere  having  their  generative  point  in 
the  summit  of  this  mountain.  Thus,  we  have  Aries  and  Scorpio, 
the  pincers  of  the  latter  put  for  Libra,  answering  to  the  equinoctial 
signs,  while  the  Eagle  and  Dog  are  certainly  solstitial  signs.  Then 
we  have  Draco  or  the  Serpent,  the  Tortoise,  etc.,  which  must  apper- 
tain especially  to  the  northern  heavens.  But  the  figures  repre- 
sented around  the  apex  of  the  cones  are  to  me  the  most  decisive. 
There  is  the  crescent  and  the  eight-rayed  star,  varied  to  seven  rays, 
inclosed  in  a  circle ;  and  what  is  especially  remarkable,  a  four-rayed 
star,  answering  to  the  four  cardinal  regions,  while  four  rivers  are 
represented  issuing  from  a  common  source  in  the  centre,  taking 
their  courses  toward  the  four  intermediate  points.  It  is  impossible 
to  take  these  intermediate  radiations  for  anything  but  veritable 
rivers.  The  plate  illustrating  a  similar  document  discovered  by 
Mr.  George  Smith,  accompanying  his  version  of  the  same  (Assyr. 
Die.  p.  236),  where  all  these  symbols  are  repeated  in  cruder 
form,  shows  these  rivers  with  unmistakable  plainness.  Finally,  we 
must  consider  that  the  conical  stone  itself  was  a  temple,  like  the 
Betylus  or  Beth-el,  was  in  fact  a  miniature  Mt.  Meru  conceived  as 
an  immense  conical  hill. 

Considering  the  facts  above  set  forth,  it  is  difficult  to  resist  the 
conclusion  that  the  system  of  land  measuring,  and  of  territorial 
divisions  generally,  both  proceeding  from  the  theory  of  the  temple, 
was  derived  traditionally  by  the  Babylonians  from  the  sacred 
mount  of  the  east,  in  which  almost  all  their  religious  ideas  seem 
primitively  to  have  centred.  The  astronomical  representation  of 
the  sacred  mountain  upon  a  boundary-stone  can  hardly  be  explained 
upon  any  other  hypothesis.  Another  and  very  strong  presumptive 
evidence  of  such  traditional  origin  would  be  afforded  if  we  could 
show  that  this  system  of  measurements  and  divisions  actually  pro- 
ceeded with  the  Babylonians  from  the  theory  of  the  temple,  since 
the  pyramidal  temple  was  an  artificial  reproduction  of  the  sacred 
mount.  Jt  will  not  be  difficult,  I  think,  to  establish  this  point  of 

1  Vid.  3d  Rawl.  PL  45,  for  cuts  representing  the  upper  surface  of  the  cones, 
Cf.  Rev.  G.  Rawlinson,  Five  Monarchies,  ii.  pp.  573,  574, 


248 


HAR-MOAD. 


connection.  In  every  one  oi  the  land  grants,  of  which  these  con- 
ical stones  were  boundaries,  there  occurs,  in  the  description  of  the 
territory  conveyed,  the  Assyrian  expression  Bit-as,  meaning  "  mea- 
sure," thus:  "fifty  sekul  in  measures  of  great  cubits."  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  refer  this  Assyrian  reading  of  Bit-as  to  any  known  Semitic 
root.  The  reason  is,  that  it  is  in  fact  an  Accadian  term,  so  consid- 
ered by  M.  Lenormant,  to  which  he  gives  the  reading  E-as,  these 
being  the  ordinary  values  of  the  two  signs  composing  it.  The  ety- 
mology of  the  word  is  then  apparent  at  a  glance,  namely,  temple-f- 
measure,  or  to  measure.  This  shows  that  the  usage  of  the  expres- 
sion as  denoting  "measure"  in  land  divisions  was  derived  origi- 
nally from  the  temple.  Recall  here,  for  a  still  further  confirmation, 
the  hieratic  form  of  the  character  signifying  "house,  temple,"  etc., 
as  heretofore  explained,  in  which  we  find  the  arrangement  of  nine 
identical  squares,  so  resembling  a  plot  of  ground  cut  up  into  sec- 
tions. Finally,  we  know  that  the  augurial  temple  of  the  Romans 
constituted  the  theoretical  basis  of  their  system  of  land  measuring, 
and  generally  of  all  territorial  divisions,  while  the  origin  of  it  has 
been  already  traced  to  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates,  where  the  two 
orders  of  ideas  must  have  been  also  associated.  The  sacred  moun- 
tain of  the  east,  then,  was  alike  the  birthplace  of  these  doctrines  of 
the  temple  and  of  territorial  divisions.  Indeed,  the  system  of  nine 
squares,  corresponding  to  that  of  the  "planetary  seal"  symbolizing 
the  cosmos,  was  seen  to  have  been  definitely  connected  with  the 
same  traditional  locality  in  a  previous  chapter. 

SEC.  98.  In  the  augurial  temple  of  the  Etrusco-Romans,  accord- 
ing to  the  statement  of  Dr.  William  Smith  previously  cited,  there  was 
involved  the  notion  of  a  terrestrial  space,  marked  off  and  divided, 
and  of  a  certain  limited  celestial  space,  corresponding  to  and  placed 
in  immediate  connection  with  it ;  and  all  the  divisions  were  located 
with  special  reference  to  the  cardinal  regions.  Here  was,  then, 
literally  a  heaven  -(-  earth,  an  astronomical  or  celestial  earth.  The 
same  doctrines  and  methods  were  applied  in  the  partitions  of  the 
soil,  the  territorial  divisions  of  the  state,  and  finally  in  the  laying- 
out  of  towns,  the  inauguration  of  cities,  and  probably  in  the  founda- 
tion of  the  state  itself.  Everything  was  thus  a  temple,  and  at  the 
same  time  a  celestial  earth.  In  each  instance,  the  least  unit  of 
such  a  divided  plot  would  be  a  geometrical  figure,  like  that  of  the 
Spartan  symbol  of  the  Dioscuri,  corresponding  to  the  Chinese  char- 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  249 

acter  Tsing,  "  a  well,"  put  also  for  the  constellation  of  Gemini,  or 
of  the  Dioscuri.  It  was  shown  in  a  previous  chapter  that  this  very 
symbol  was  associated  also  among  the  Chinese,  with  the  divisions 
of  the  soil  and  formation  of  towns,  thus:  "Nine  families  constitute 
a  well,  four  wells  an  indosure,  and  four  inclosures  a  community." 
Not  only  this,  but  a  passage  was  cited  to  the  effect  that  the  constel- 
lation Tsing  was  taken  for  the  symbol  of  territorial  divisions,  for 
the  rules  in  laying  out  and  founding  a  capital,  and  for  the  inaugura- 
tion of  the  state.  To  these  data  should  be  added  the  fact  hereto- 
fore insisted  upon  that  the  geometrical  figure  representing  the  sym- 
bol in  question  corresponds  perfectly  to  the  geographical  scheme  of 
five  regions  associated  with  Akkad,  with  the  Biblical  Aram,  and 
various  other  countries  previously  named,  and  finally  with  the  tradi- 
tional mount  of  paradise  itself.  The  Chinese  character  Tsing  was 
also,  as  name  of  the  constellation  Gemini,  connected  with  the  same 
sacred  locality,  which  constituted,  in  fact,  the  primitive  celestial 
earth,  the  original  cosmos,  the  first  abode  of  humanity. 

The  statement  has  been  made  and  repeated  that  the  ancient  civil- 
izations and  kingdoms  had  a  genealogy  which  could  be  traced  to 
the  paradisiacal  mountain  ;  and  I  believe  the  evidences  now  placed 
before  the  reader  will  be  considered  a  sufficient  verification  of  the 
fact.  Savagism  never  gave  birth,  either  immediately  or  remotely, 
to  the  religious  and  political  institutions  of  antiquity.  They  were 
born  of  a  sacred  science,  that  had  been  transmitted  from  the  earliest 
ages,  to  which  the  recollections  of  all  the  races  revested  as  the  bright 
and  golden  era.  We  gather  from  the  various  peoples  the  most  widely 
separated  in  antiquity,  not  merely  general  indications  of  such  com- 
mon inheritance,  but  the  most  circumstantial  evidences  tending  to 
this  conclusion.  Thus,  among  the  Etrusco-Romans,  the  temple,  being 
literally  an  astronomical  earth,  and  distinctly  involving  the  notion  of 
the  cosmos,  constituted  obviously  the  germinal  centre  from  which 
the  entire  state  organization  proceeded.  The  traditional  inheritance 
of  these  notions,  on  the  part  of  the  Romans,  from  the  Asiatic 
Olympus  seems  at  first  wholly  incredible.  Nevertheless,  the  proofs 
to  this  effect  are  quite  conclusive.  As  stated  by  Dr.  William  Smith 
in  a  previous  chapter,  the  gods  were  supposed  to  be  seated  in  the 
north,  which  fact  was  thought  to  determine  the  direction  of  the 
main  line  in  land  surveying.  This  conception  respecting  the  seat 
of  the  divinities  finds  its  only  explanation  in  the  primitive  tradi- 


250 


HAR-MOAD. 


tions  centring  in  Mt.  Meru%  Another  evidence  not  less  direct  is 
derived  from  some  striking  features  of  the  Roman  Pantheon.  Herr 
Nissen  remarks  relative  to  this  renowned  edifice :  — 

"  The  axis  of  the  temple  is  only  five  degrees  westward  from  the 
pole.  The  seven  gods  of  the  Pantheon  are  the  septem  triones,  to  be 
compared  to  the  seven  oxen  (that  is,  the  seven  stars  of  the  chariot) 
which  never  disappear  from  the  circum polar  region."  "  The  posi- 
tion of  the  seven  stars  determined  the  location  of  the  temple  as 
primal  reason,  while  the  reference  to  the  dwelling-place  of  Jupiter 
in  the  eighth  region  formed  a  second  .motive."  1 

These  facts  show  with  what  remarkable  fidelity  the  Etrnsco- 
Romaus  had  preserved  the  ancient  tradition,  and  clearly  demonstrate 
the  ultimate  origin  of  their  sacred  science ;  though  it  appears  to 
have  been  received  intermediately  through  the  Babylonians.  Like 
evidences  of  a  nature  too  circumstantial  and  direct  to  be  explained 
upon  any  principle  of  accidental  causes  or  of  normal  development 
have  been  drawn  from  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates,  of  the  Nile, 
from  the  Semitic  populations  generally  of  Western  Asia,  and  from 
the  nationalities  of  the  distant  east,  the  Aryans  of  India  and  the 
ancient  empire  of  the  Chinese.  Dr.  Schlegel  notices  a  peculiar  and 
archaic  form  of  the  Chinese  temple,  the  upper  portion  being  in  the 
form  of  a  dome  to  represent  the  heavens,  the  lower  portion  of  a 
square  form  to  symbolize  the  earth  ;  conceptions  whose  exact  anal- 
ogy with  the  doctrines  of  the  temple  prevailing  in  other  quarters  of 
the  old  world  will  be  at  once  recognized.  The  connection  of  the 
Chinese  Tsing,  also,  with  the  fundamental  ideas  appertaining  to 
the  state,  compared  with  its  obvious  relation  to  the  same  order  of 
ideas  among  other  peoples,  is  very  remarkable,  and  the  influences  to 
be  drawn  therefrom  are  quite  obvious.  Everywhere  the  temple  is 
conceived  as  a  cosmos,  a  heaven  and  earth,  an  astronomical  earth,  in 
fact ;  and  the  expansion  of  these  ideas  forms  the  basis  of  the  theory 
of  the  state,  which  is  itself  a  great  temple,  a  terrestrial  heaven,  an 
organized  world  redeemed  from  chaos,  whose  archetypal  conception 
has  been  inherited  from  primeval  tradition,  centring  in  that  region 
from  whence  the  races  first  departed  to  people  the  earth. 

SEC.  94.  An  effort  to  make  a  radical  distinction  between  the 
Hebrew  conception  of  the  tabernacle  and  temple,  on  one  hand,  and 
that  of  the  sacred  edifices  of  peoples  surrounding  the  Israelites,  on 

1  Das  Templum,  p.  225. 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  251 

the  other,  would  ever  be,  in  my  view,  unsuccessful.  Originally  and 
fundamentally  they  were  the  same,  and  had  been  derived  from  a 
common  source.  But  in  this  conception  the  traditional  element  was 
all  important,  a  neglect  of  which  would  inevitably  conduct  to  er- 
roneous ideas.  The  aim  was  to  represent  the  cosmos  as  the  dwelling 
of  God.  This,  however,  was  not  the  cosmos  in  our  modern  sense, 
except  in  a  wholly  subordinate  degree.  The  reference  was  to  the 
particular  heaven  and  earth  known  to  the  first  men,  and  to  which 
all  the  traditions  and  all  the  cosmogonies  especially  related.  An 
expansion  of  this  original  idea  to  include  the  entire  expanse  of 
heaven  and  earth  would  be  natural  and  even  legitimate,  so  long  as 
the  primary  reference  to  the  sacred  mount  of  paradise  was  held 
most  prominent  and  fundamental.  To  forget  this  primary  refer- 
ence was  henceforth  to  convert  the  entire  scheme  into  a  philosophic 
view  of  God  and  the  universe,  which  could  result  only  in  panthe- 
ism. It  is  quite  certain  that,  during  the  course  of  ages,  the  all- 
important  traditional  element  became  itself,  not  merely  subordinate, 
but  wholly  mythical.  The  result  was  that  the  entire  expanse  of 
heaven  was  taken  as  God's  dwelling-place,  while  the  entire  earth 
was  assimilated  to  the  earth  goddess  ;  and  this  is  precisely  the  inter- 
pretation which  modern  investigators  attach  to-day  to  the  original 
doctrines  of  antiquity  relative  to  these  subjects.  It  appears  to  me 
that  the  investigations  contained  in  our  sixth  chapter,  together  with 
various  other  considerations  that  might  be  urged,  prove  conclusively 
that  such  interpretation  is  a  misconception  of  the  primitive  idea. 
The  original  reference  was  to  a  certain  characteristic  geographical 
locality,  and  to  a  well-defined  and  limited  celestial  region  placed  in 
immediate  association  with  it.  The  traditional  element  referred  to 
these,  and  not  to  the  entire  heaven  and  earth  collectively  taken. 

Professor  Max  Miiller  has  shown  that  the  Chinese  word  Tien, 
and  the  Aryan  Dyu,  or  Dyaus,  denoted  originally  the  sky,  but  that 
they  were  employed  likewise,  by  a  natural  association  of  ideas,  as 
titles  of  the  supreme  divinity ;  thus,  the  Greek  Zeus  and  the  Latin 
Jupiter  are  names  derived  from  Dyu,  or  Dyaus.1  Nevertheless,  the 
divine  being,  thus  conceived  and  invoked,  was  regarded  as  endowed 
with  strict  personality.  To  these  early  titles  of  divinity  is  now  to 
be  added  that  of  the  Accadian  An,  "  elevated,  heaven,  god."  This 
term  is  otherwise  employed  for  the  personal  pronoun,  third  person, 
1  Led.  Sci.  Language,  2d  series,  pp.  456,  457,  etc. 


252 


HAR-MOAD. 


masculine  and  singular.  Hence,  the  conception  was  " heaven-he" 
or  "god-he,"  like  the  Aryan  "  Dyaus-he,"  a  strictly  personal  deity. 
But  was  the  "  heaven  "  which  gave  rise  to  the  primitive  conception 
of  a  personal  and  divine  being  the  entire  expanse  of  the  sky  ? 
Professor  Miiller  does  not  take  note  of  this  particular  inquiry,  but 
it  is  very  important  for  us  in  the  present  connection.  The  simple 
fact  that,  according  to  the  earliest  and  most  universal  tradition,  the 
seat  of  the  divine  hierarchy  was  supposed  to  be  the  north,  and  the 
extreme  north,  that  is  to  say,  the  circumpolar  region,  the  Su-Meru 
of  the  Hindus,  ought  to  be  regarded  as  conclusive  upon  the  point 
before  us.  There  are  any  number  of  allusions  in  the  sacred  books 
of  antiquity,  as  well  as  traditionary  notions,  perfectly  inconsistent 
with  the  idea  that  the  entire  expanse  of  heaven  was  taken  for  the 
Deity  or  the  abode  of  the  superior  powers.  The  Aryans  of  India 
and  Persia  definitely  located  this  abode  in  the  particular  celestial 
region  around  the  summit  of  Mt.  Meru.  The  same  notions  pre- 
vailed at  Babylon,  as  evinced  by  the  various  expressions,  u  heaven 
of  Anu,"  "  Bit-Kharris  of  the  east,"  to  which  for  proof  of  the  ordi- 
nary Semitic  conception  may  be  added  the  prophet's  allusion  "  the 
stars  of  El,"  and  the  Haranite  name  Shemal,  the  Sumilu  of  the 
cuneiform  texts,  but  especially  for  the  north  and  the  great  divinity 
of  the  north.  Finally,  I  recall  here  the  proofs  previously  intro- 
duced, that  the  Accadian  An  had  particular  and  primary  reference 
to  the  same  celestial  region,  and  the  passage  cited  from  Herr  Nissen 
in  the  last  section,  showing  that  among  the  Romans  the  especial 
seat  of  Jupiter  was  the  "  eighth  region  "  in  relation  to  the  septem 
trioneS)  or  seven  stars  of  the  great  Dipper.  Thus,  I  submit  it  to 
the  judgment  of  the  learned  reader  whether  the  data  now  before  us 
do  not  necessitate  the  conclusion  that  the  primitive  reference  and 
application  of  the  notions  and  divine  names  referred  to  was  not 
limited,  and  that  expressly,  to  the  particular  heaven  and  earth,  con- 
stituting, as  I  have  shown,  the  staple  element  of  the  traditions  of 
all  Asia  respecting  the  first  abode  of  humanity ;  traditions  which 
had  originally  an  actual  historical  and  geographical  basis.1 

1  Since  the  completion  of  the  manuscript  of  the  present  work,  I  have  more  fully 
realized  the  important  bearing  of  the  fact  that  primitive  sacred  tradition  regarded 
a  particular  heaven  and  earth,  instead  of  the  heaven  and  earth  in  general,  upon 
the  labors  of  certain  German  authors  in  the  field  of  comparative,  especially  Ar- 
yan mythology.  The  same  fact  has  a  similar  bearing  upon  Professor  Miiller's 


THE   CELESTIAL  EARTH.  253 

SEC.  95.  We  return  now  to  the  Hebrew  conception  of  the  taber- 
nacle and  temple,  as  compared  with  that  of  surrounding  nations, 
attached  to  structures  of  a  like  sacred  character.  I  think  it  is  true 
as  regards  the  majority  at  least  of  these  peoples  that  the  original 

researches  in  this  department.  The  German  works  to  which  special  reference  is 
had  are  those  of  Dr.  Julius  Grill  (Die  Erzvdter  der  Menschheit,  etc.  Leipzig, 
1875),  and  Dr.  P.  Asmus  (Die  Indog.  Religion,  etc.  Halle,  1875).  All  proceed 
upon  the  supposition  that  the  original  heaven  father  and  earth  mother  had 
reference  to  the  entire  heaven  and  the  entire  earth,  or  at  least  as  taken  in  a 
general  and  indefinite  sense  ;  upon  the  supposition  also  that  the  notions  pertain- 
ing to  both  had  a  purely  naturalistic  development.  I  believe  these  are  two  funda- 
mental errors,  proved  such  by  the  present  researches,  and  that  they  tend  greatly 
to  mislead  the  comparative  mythologists  of  the  present  day.  The  notions  of  the 
heaven  father  and  earth  mother  were  rather  traditional  than  naturalistic,  and 
were  inherited  by  widely  different  peoples.  They  were  far  more  ancient  than  the 
Aryan  development  itself,  and  they  obviously  centred  originally  in  the  great 
Olympus  of  all  Asia.  The  two  authors,  Drs.  Grill  and  Asmus,  represent  the 
two  opposite  and  extreme  tendencies  in  Oriental  research  :  1st.  That  which 
would  derive  the  religions  of  the  Bible  from  the  heathen  systems.  Dr.  Grill 
attempts  to  trace  the  Mosaic  history  contained  in  the  first  chapters  of  Genesis  to 
the  Aryans  of  India  and  Persia.  He  forgets  that  the  notions  which  he  derives 
exclusively  from  these  sources  were  far  more  ancient  than  either  the  Aryans  or 
Semites,  ethnologically  speaking.  They  were  common  to  all  the  cultured  races 
of  antiquily,  and,  as  we  have  shown,  derived  originally  from  the  primitive  home 
of  mankind.  The  Aryans  on  one  hand,  the  Semites  on  the  other,  were  equally 
indebted  to  ages  long  prior  to  them  for  those  traditionary  conceptions  of  which 
the  author  treats.  Indeed,  it  seems  to  me  that  Dr.  Grill's  entire  theory  is  shown 
to  be  erroneous  by  the  fact  developed  in  the  present  treatise.  2d.  Dr.  Asmus 
represents  that  tendency  which  virtually  seeks  to  build  up  a  contrast  between  the 
religions  of  the  Bible  as  revealed,  and  the  heathen  systems  as  purely  naturalis- 
tic. This  standpoint,  in  my  estimation,  is  just  as  erroneous  as  that  of  Dr.  Grill. 
The  ground  ideas  of  all  the  ancient  religions  iccre  the  same,  and  were  a  traditional 
inheritance  from  the  original  centre  of  humanity.  This  proposition,  so  fully  demon- 
strated in  these  pages,  is  sufficient  to  overthrow  the  two  opposite  theories  of  the 
authors  named.  The  naturalism  with  which  Dr.  Asmus  seeks  to  contrast  the 
Biblical  theism  is  in  fact  a  decayed  symbolism,  in  which  the  primeval  doctrines 
were  revealed.  I  do  not  propose  here  to  return  to  the  extremes  in  the  use  of  the 
symbolic  principle  that  characterized  a  former  period  in  Oriental  matters.  On 
the  other  hand,  I  cannot  adopt  the  other  extreme,  now  so  generally  in  vogue, 
which  assumes  practically  that  symbolic  art  never  existed  as  an  element  of  the 
ancient  religions.  The  present  volume  contains  ample  evidence  that  symbolism 
was  a  vital  principle  in  the  primitive  doctrines.  Thus,  generally,  where  Dr. 
Asmus  sees  nothing  but  pure  naturalism,  from  the  standpoint  of  the  present 
researches  I  distinctly  recognize  the  evidences  of  symbolic  conceptions,  whose 
original  sense  had  been  lost  or  perverted.  Nevertheless,  the  author  is  to  be 
excused,  I  think,  for  not  being  able  to  find  the  modern  speculative  doctrine  of  the 


254 


HAR-MOAD. 


traditional  element  relating  to  the  temple  bad  come  to  be  wholly 
subordinate,  and  even  mythical,  and  that  the  entire  expanse  of  hea- 
ven and  earth,  as  symbolized  in  the  arrangement  of  such  structures, 
had  been  assumed  as  the  exclusive  standpoint.  In  such  case  a  pan- 
theistic view  of  God  and  the  universe  would  be  almost  inevitably 
the  result.  Stripped  of  its  original  historical  and  geographical 
element,  the  conception  became  exclusively  a  philosophic  dogma. 
Heaven  in  general  became  assimilated  to  the  male  divinity,  and  the 
earth  in  general  to  the  female  divinity.  Everything  tended  towards 
a  pure  abstraction  speculatively  speaking,  while  the  original  con- 
crete personality  became,  in  the  popular  conception  and  in  the  re- 
ligious sense,  broken  up  into  numberless  personified  conceptions, 
whose  primitive  identity  was  wholly  forgotten. 

The  Hebrews  preserved,  or  if  not,  Moses  restored,  the  primeval 
tradition,  in  its  full  symbolic  import,  respecting  the  artificial  struc- 
ture designed  for  the  abode  of  divinity.  The  relation  of  the  Beth- 
absolute  and  unknowable  in  the  ancient  systems.  For  myself,  I  have  not  been 
able  to  discover  it  in  the  religions  of  the  Bible. 

Yet  more  recent  than  the  two  treatises  above  referred  to,  and  involving,  al- 
though in  a  different  field  of  research,  the  same  fundamental  error,  according  to 
my  judgment,  is  the  work  issued  by  Dr.  Ignaz  Goldziher,  Der  Myfhos  bei  den 
Hebraern,  etc.  Leipzig,  1876.  The  general  tendency  of  the  author  is  similar  to 
that  of  Dr.  Grill's  production,  except  that  he  does  not  attempt  to  derive  the  He- 
brew religion  from  Aryan,  but  rather  from  Semitic  mythology.  Both  Dr.  Grill  and 
Dr.  Goldziher  deal  largely  in  etymologies  of  personal  names,  etymologies  in  which 
it  is  difficult  usually  to  place  much  confidence.  Certainly  the  two  systems  cannot 
be  correct,  for  substantially  they  disprove  each  other.  As  before  intimated,  both 
proceeded  upon  the  principle  that  the  heaven  father  meant  heaven  in  general, 
instead  of  a  particular  and  traditional  heaven,  etc.  Another  grave  error  in  both 
authors  is  the  constant  assumption  that,  if  a  personal  name  involves  a  mythologi- 
cal sense  etymologic  ally,  then  the  personage  so  named  must  be  regarded  mythical, 
and  not  historical.  But  this  principle  would  consign  nine  tenths  of  the  Assyrian 
canon,  as  every  cuneiform  scholar  knows,  to  the  region  of  myth.  The  same  of 
the  Chaldasan  kings.  Thus,  the  name  Lik-an-Bagas  means  "  light  of  the  god 
Bagas  :  "  but  was  Lik-Bagas  (or  UruTdi)  therefore  a  myth  V  Certainly  not,  for 
we  have  many  inscriptions  bearing  his  name.  Admit,  then,  with  Dr.  Goldziher, 
that  Ab-ram,  "high  father,"  really  means  "heaven  father."  This  is  no  proof 
that  Abram,  or  Abraham,  was  a  mythical  personage.  But  when  Dr.  Goldziher 
derives  the  name  Dan  from  the  Assyrian  Du-ni,  "to  march,  to  go,"  we  lose  all 
confidence  in  his  etymologies  even,  and  seek  a  firmer  basis  of  conclusions  (vid.  p. 
144.  Cf.  Norris,  Assyr.  Die.  i.  248).  The  syllable  Du  is  Accadian,  meaning  "  to 
go,"  etc.  A  reading  adopted  into  the  Assyrian  with  the  addition  of  ni  as  pho- 
netic complement.  It  must  be  impossible,  I  think,  to  form  out  of  such  elements  a 
name  Dan,  "  to  go,"  etc. 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  255 

Mond  to  the  Har-Hoad  was  fully  recognized.  The  planetary  re- 
gions and  the  zodiacal  divisions  were  not  excluded,  but  they  were 
held  subordinate.  The  planets  and  zodiacal  constellations  were 
supposed,  in  fact,  to  revolve  around  Mt.  Meru  as  the  common  centre, 
just  as  we  conceive  the  entire  stellar  world  to  turn  on  its  axis,  cor- 
responding to  the  two  poles.  The  Hebrew  tabernacle,  then,  was 
the  cosmos,  the  celestial  earth,  in  its  least  form  ;  and  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel,  together  with  the  territorial  divisions  allotted  to 
them,  being  assimilated  to  the  zodiacal  constellations,  completed 
the  organization  of  the  heavenly  kingdom.  In  the  end  Mt.  Sion 
simply  replaced  the  traditional  mount  of  paradise. 

The  blessings  pronounced  by  Jacob  at  the  time  of  his  death  upon 
his  twelve  sons  (Gen.  xlix.),  together  with  the  corresponding  pas- 
sages, have  always  appeared  to  me  conclusive,  to  the  effect  that  the 
intention  was,  in  accordance  with  what  appears  to  have  been  a  pre- 
'valent  custom,  to  assimilate  each  one  to  a  particular  zodiacal  sign 
or  constellation.  Many  of  the  older  commentators,  such  as  Dr. 
Clarke,  who  seems  to  have  been  guided  very  much  by  the  views  of 
Dr.  Hale,  did  not  hesitate  to  adopt  this  hypothesis ;  and  it  was  cer- 
tainly countenanced  by  some  of  the  most  respectable  among  the 
ancient  authorities.  But  the  construction  put  upon  this  theory  by 
such  writers  as  Dupuis  of  France,  Nork  of  Germany,  and  others 
that  might  be  named,  have  tended  to  make  more  recent  critics  a 
little  cautious.  M.  Dupuis'  statements  of  facts,  so  far  as  regarded 
the  sources  available  at  that  time,  appear  to  have  been  perfectly 
conscientious  and  usually  correct,  and  he  is  being  more  and  more 
cited  by  the  best  writers  of  the  present  day.  But  this,  however,  in 
no  sense  as  adopting  the  author's  constructions  of  the  facts  and  the 
general  hypothesis  of  his  voluminous  work.  I. think  the  author  was 
justified  in  saying  that  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  had  for  their 
ensigns  the  twelve  constellations  of  the  zodiac,  but  not  in  the  con- 
clusion that  the  origin  of  all  religion  was  astrology.  I  wish  to  cite 
here  the  judicious  remarks  of  Professor  Bush  upon  Jacob's  lan- 
guage to  the  effect :  — 

"  That  the  peculiar  phraseology  in  which  the  blessings  are  couched 
has,  in  most  cases,  a  verbal  allusion  to  the  nomes  bestowed  upon  the 
twelve  phylarchs,  or  princes  of  tribes,  at  their  birth  —  a  circum- 
stance not  indeed  obvious  to  the  English  reader,  but  palpable  to 
one  who  consults  the  original "  (Notes,  Gen.  xlix.). 


256 


HAR-MOAD. 


It  would  be  difficult  to  prove  beyond  doubt  that  the  phylarchs, 
or  phratries,  princes  of  tribes,  were  associated  in  some  way  with 
the  twelve  zodiacal  divisions,  yet  it  seems  to  me  quite  probable. 
The  Arabian  tribes  were  thus  associated,,  and  it  appears  to  have 
been  an  ancient  Asiatic  custom.  The  cuneiform  Dun-pa-nddu  is 
given  as  the  name  .of  Mercury,  corresponding  to  the  sign  Aries,  in 
a  text  already  cited.  In  another  text,  the  same  name  is  put  for  the 
"  prince  of  the  men  of  Haran,"  an  old  city  with  which  the  Abra- 
hamic  race  is  especially  connected  in  the  account  of  Genesis.  This 
is  not  conclusive  as  to  the  sons  of  Jacob,  but  it  has  a  tendency  in 
that  direction.  Really,  the  most  direct  evidence,  and  which  seems 
to  me  almost  positive,  is  the  very  language  employed  by  Jacob, 
strikingly  applicable  in  most  instances  to  the  ancient  zodiacal  con- 
stellations. Thus,  Judah  is  "  a  lion's  whelp "=  Leo;  "  Simeon  and 
Levi  are  brethren"  =  Gemini;  "  Dan  shall  be  a  serpent  .  .  .  that 
biteth  the  horse  heels"  =  Scorpio,  sometimes  represented  as  a  serpent' 
biting  the  heels  of  Sagittarius.  Such  analogies  carry  with  them 
the  force  of  demonstration.  The  Hebrew  camp,  then,  arranged  in 
the  form  of  a  square,  the  sides  facing  the  cardinal  regions,  and  the 
tabernacle  in  the  centre,  was  in  every  sense  of  the  word  an  astro- 
nomical or  a  celestial  earth  ;  and  the  temple  on  Mt.  Sion,  central 
point  of  the  territory  divided  according  to  the  number  of  the  tribes, 
constituted  a  heavenly  kingdom,  whose  primitive  model  was  the 
traditional  mount  of  paradise.  Such  was  a  perfected  type  of  the 
politico-religious  institutions  of  the  old  world. 

SEC.  96.  Professor  Bush's  allusion  to  the  phylarclis  calls  to  mind 
an  investigation  by  Mr.  Grote,  quite  critical  and  satisfactory,  upon 
the  primitive  formation  of  Greek  society,  especially  of  Attica,,  from 
which  the  fraternal  and  religious  character  of  these  first  organiza- 
tions is  plainly  to  be  inferred.  The  phratries  were  sometimes  iden- 
tified with  the  tribes,  at  other  times  held  as  subordinate  divisions. 
In  practice  the  number  varied,  but  theoretically  appears  to  have 
been  typical,  twelve  being  the  most  frequent.  In  Attica  we  have 
four  tribes,  to  each  of  which  appertained  three  phratries,  or  phy- 
larchies.  Theoretically,  all  the  members  were  regarded  as  de- 
scended from  a  common  ancestral  head,  though  in  point  of  fact 
such  was  hardly  ever  the  case.  Each  phratry  had  its  "  deme  "  or 
division  of  soil,  like  the  tribes  of  Israel.  The  combination  of  the 
numbers  four  and  twelve,  like  three  gates  to  each  side  of  a  temple, 


THE  CELESTIAL   EARTH.  257 

was  certainly  not  accidental,  but  had  an  obvious  reference  to  some 
scheme  founded  on  the  zodiacal  divisions.  For  the  rest,  I  refer  to 
Mr.  Grote's  own  language  as  follows  :  — 

"  That  every  phnitry  contained  an  equal  number  of  gentes,  and 
every  gens  an  equal  number  of  families,  is  a  supposition  hardly 
admissible  without  better  evidence  than  we  possess.  But  apart 
from  this  questionable  precision  of  numerical  scale,  the  phratries 
and  gentes  themselves  were  real,  ancient,  and  durable  associations 
among  the  Athenian  people,  highly  important  to  be  understood. 
The  basis  of  the  whole  was  the  house,  hearth,  or  family,  —  a  num- 
ber of  which,  greater  or  less,  composed  the  gens  or  genos.  This 
gens  was  therefore  a  clan,  sept,  or  enlarged  and  partly  factitious 
brotherhood,  bound  together  by  common  religious  ceremonies,"  etc. 
"  Each  phratry  was  considered  as  belonging  to  one  of  the  four 
tribes,  and  all  the  phratries  of  the  same  tribe  enjoyed  a  certain 
periodical  communion  of  sacred  rites."  "  Such  was  the  primitive 
religious  and  social  union  of  the  population  of  Attica  in  its  gradu- 
ally ascending  scale,  as  distinguished  t'roiii  the  political  union,  prob- 
ably of  later  introduction."  1 

It  is  probable  that  the  primitive  social  and  religious  organiza- 
tions in  the  Nile  valley,  to  which  the  Egyptian  nomes  appertained, 
were  very  similar  to  those  of  Attica,  and  it  is  safe  to  assume  that 
all  the  ancient  communities  were  at  first  of  like  character.  In 
every  case  religious  ideas  seem  to  have  exercised  a  controlling  in- 
fluence. But  the  two  extracts,  one  from  Mr.  Grote,  the  other  from 
Professor  Bush,  taken  in  connection,  exhibit  at  once  the  vital  rela- 
tionship, the  fundamental  analogy,  in  fact,  between  the  state  as 
the  greatest  unit  and  the  family  as  the  least  unit,  in  the  ancient 
civilizations ;  between  the  temple  as  an  image  of  the  cosmos  and 
the  house  as  a  human  habitation ;  between  the  national  divinity 
and  altar  and  the  divinity  of  the  hearth.  The  reader  will  perceive 
at  once,  therefore,  the  connection  of  the  present  chapter  with  the 
second,  which  treats  upon  the  divinity  of  the  hearth.  The  ground 
thought,  which  unites  the  three  notions  of-  cosmos,  temple,  and 
house,  is  that  of  dwelling,  to  which  appertains  that  of  the  paternal 
and  filial  relation,  from  whence  the  ideas  of  the  "  children  of  Israel," 
"  children  of  the  kingdom,"  the  divine  paternity,  etc.  We  find 
here  an  explanation  of  the  notion  of  cutting,  of  division,  appertain- 
ing to  the  customs  of  the  altar,  of  sacrifices,  and  the  ratification  of 

1  History  of  Greece,  iii.  pp.  54,  55. 


258  HAR-MOAD. 

covenants  by  sacrifices,  as*  being  fundamental  in  the  doctrine  of 
the  temple  and  of  the  cosmos,  illustrated  particularly  in  our  fifth 
chapter.  The  expression,  "a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,"  is  some- 
times equivalent  to  "  a  new  covenant  "  in  scriptural  usage.  The 
creation  of  one  and  the  ratification  of  the  other  become  strictly  cog- 
nate conceptions ;  thus,  the  cosmos  is  a  dwelling,  the  temple  is  a 
house,  and  creation's  altar  is  the  hearth,  where  love  first  blossomed 
and  God  first  entered  into  covenant  with  humanity. 

SEC.  97.  The  theory  of  the  ancient  civilizations  was  a  divine 
idea,  and  its  origin  and  practical  realization  in  the  kingdoms  of 
antiquity,  in  the  light  in  which  we  are  now  able  to  view  the  sub- 
ject, may  well  excite  our  surprise  and  admiration.  The  two  princi- 
pal and  component  elements,  as  developed  in  our  second  chapter 
and  in  the  present  one,  are  those  actually  constituting  the  primitive 
stratum  of  conceptions  upon  which  the  religious,  political,  and 
social  institutions  of  the  entire  ancient  world  were  founded,  so  far 
at  least  as  concerns  all  the  cultured  races.  The  Christian  civiliza- 
tion, as  embodied  in  the  theory  of  its  great  Founder,  is  radically 
different,  and  this  difference  proceeds  mainly  from  the  doctrine 
that  man  is  the  real  cosmos,  the  true  temple.  Religion,  to  be  uni- 
versal instead  of  national,  must  be  released  from  the  bonds  of  local 
worship  and  the  material  temple.  It  cannot  be  confined  to  Mt. 
Sion,  nor  to  Mt.  Gerizim.  On  the  other  hand,  to  lose  sight  of  the 
temple,  and  its  prototype  the  cosmos,  is  to  reject  the  traditional  ele- 
ment and  to  convert  religion  into  mere  philosophy.  The  origin  of 
all  religion,  its  historical  phases  and  development  through  all  ages, 
must  be  preserved.  These  are  the  conditions  of  the  problem  of  a 
religion  strictly  universal,  and  of  a  civilization  founded  upon  it. 
The  only  solution  of  this  problem  under  the  circumstances  is  that 
man,  not  in  the  individual  sense  exclusively,  nor  in  the  generic,  but 
in  both  senses,  constitutes  the  cosmos,  the  temple,  the  abode  of  the 
Divine  Spirit.  The  church  is  then  the  celestial  earth,  the  heavenly 
kingdom,  the  temple,*  Christ  being  the  corner-stone.  This,  how- 
ever, was  no  after-thought,  but  had  been  anticipated  from  the  be- 
ginning. As  heretofore  remarked,  the  Biblical  psychology  corre- 
sponds to  the  ancient  cosmogony.  Heaven  answers  to  fhe  pneuma, 
or  "  spirit,"  the  intermediate  region  or  atmosphere  to  the  psyche,  or 
"  soul,"  and  earth  to  the  soma,  or  "  organized  body ; "  the  sarx, 
or  "flesh,"  being  nearly  synonymous  with  "sin"  in  New  Testa- 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  259 

ment  usage.  The  relation  here  between  the  macrocosm  and  the 
microcosm  is  exact,  and  the  extreme  antiquity  and  almost  universal 
prevalence  of  the  two  co-related  ideas  are  points  impossible  to  be 
doubted.  Nor  was  this  doctrine  at  first  merely  speculative,  which 
would  be  the  same  as  to  say  pantheistic ;  it  was  strictly  religious, 
for  the  reason  that  the  fundamental  conception  was  that  of  a  dwell- 
ing, a  habitation  of  divinity.  As  the  cosmos  is  a  dwelling  of  God, 
as  the  temple  is  such,  so  man  as  the  real  cosmos,  the  true  temple, 
is  a  house  of  God,  constructed  of  living  stones,  of  which  Christ  is 
the  chief  corner-stone. 

The  world's  history  affords  no  example  of  a  greater  advance  than 
that  which  presents  itself  here  as  between  the  ancient  and  the 
Christian  civilizations,  as  the  latter  was  conceived  by  its  Founder. 
From  the  obstacles  presented  by  the  diversities  and  jealousies  of 
different  nationalities,  a  national  and  local  religion  could  never  be- 
come universal,  unless  the  nationality  itself  became  such,  which 
was  impossible.  Besides  this,  the  worship  of  the  same  Deity  in 
different  localities,  and  under  various  names,  had  been  one  of  the 
principal  causes  of  the  growth  of  polytheism,  from  the  inability  of 
the  human  mind  to  retain  the  identity  amid  so  many  differences. 
It  was  thus  necessary  to  destroy  the  ancient  temples  and  to  over- 
throw the  civilizations  centring  in  them.  The  advance,  therefore, 
which  here  presents  itself  to  view,  was  the  complete  redemption  of 
religion  from  the  bondage  to  material  temples,  to  special  localities, 
yet  in  a  manner  not  to  lose  its  essential  characteristics  derived 
from  the  temple.  In  the  New  Testament,  everything  that  in  the 
Old  Testament  centred  in  the  temple  is  transferred  to  man,  and 
this  is  the  solution  of  the  problem.  Henceforth  the  language  is, 
"  Ye  are  the  temple  of  God,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you  " 
(1  Cor.  iii.  9).  This  is  the  new  creation,  the  new  heaven  and 
earth,  and  thus,  finally,  do  the  two  religions  of  the  Bible  flow  from 
the  first  chapters  of  Genesis. 

From  whence  came  this  sublime  science,  deeper  and  broader  than 
all  the  philosophies?  and  by  what  extraordinary  means  had  it  been 
preserved  in  its  integrity  and  purity,  since  those  hoary  ages  to 
which  we  have  traced  its  origin  ?  In  the  midst  of  the  dark  periods 
of  history,  when  old  empires  were  being  uprooted,  and  the  light  of 
former  civilizations  was  going  out,  where  did  this  ancient  and  sacred 
lore  find  an  asylum  ?  Who  preserved  the  models  that  had  been 


260 


HAR-MOAD. 


brought  from  the  primeval  4?  mountain  of  the  assembly  "  ?  Or  who, 
when  they  had  been  buried  beneath  the  drifting  sands  of  centuries, 
recovered  the  lost  treasures,  restored  them  to  new  sanctuaries,  the 
centres  of  new  civilizations  ?  I  cannot  answer  these  questions,  nor 
can  they  be  answered,  except  it  be  permitted  to  reply :  The  priest- 
kings  of  antiquity ! 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  EARTH  GODDESS. 

SEC.  98.  It  was  the  opinion  of  many  ancient  mythologists,  and 
it  has  been  held  by  a  large  number  of  modern  investigators,  that 
all  the  gods  and  goddesses  of  antiquity  ultimately  resolve  them- 
selves into  one  original  androgynous  divinity  ;  that  is  to  say,  a  god 
and  goddess  essentially  one,  yet  sufficiently  distinct  to  be  conjugally 
related.  Another  opinion  extensively  entertained  both  by  ancient 
and  modern  authorities  is  that  the  male  and  female  divinities  thus 
conceived  were  assimilated  to  the  two  chief  divisions  of  the  cosmos, 
the  male  principle  to  heaven  and  the  female  to  the  earth.  So  far 
as  my  own  investigations  have  tended  to  a  definite  conclusion  on 
these  two  important  points,  the  result  has  been  decidedly  in  favor 
of  the  views  just  stated.  The  races  whose  pantheon  exhibits  the 
least  appearance  of  having  been  derived  from  one  androgynous 
personage  are  those  whose  antiquity  is  not  nearly  so  great  as  that 
of  others ;  while  the  most  ancient  nations  who  have  preserved  dis- 
tinct tiaditions  relative  to  their  primitive  worship  furnish  us  with 
the  best  evidence  tending  to  confirm  the  opinions  to  which  we  refer. 
As  regards  the  ancient  populations  of  Western  Asia,  the  facts  now 
known  leave  little  room  for  doubt,  and  the  same  is  to  be  said  of  the 
ancient  Egyptians.  Alluding  to  the  Pho3nician  inscriptions,  M. 
De  Vogue  has  the  following  observations :  — 

"  It  is  the  same  with  these  texts  as  with  the  Egyptian  inscrip- 
tions, which  under  the  degenerated  symbols  of  a-  gross  polytheism 
have  revealed  the  existence  of  veritable  dogmas.  The  learned  inter- 
preters of  these  inscriptions  have  demonstrated,  with  the  assistance 
of  the  formulas  employed  and  the  figured  representations,  that  at 
the  basis  of  the  Egyptian  religion,  notwithstanding  the  contrary 
appearances,  there  existed  the  belief  in  one  eternal  God.  Less  per- 
sonal than  the  divinity  of  the  Bible,  and  above  all  less  distinct  from 
the  created  material,  the  Egyptian  deity  is  nevertheless  incorporeal, 


262  HAR-MOAD. 

invisible,  without  beginning  or  end ;  the  innumerable  divinities  of 
the  Egyptian  pantheon  are  only  the  personified  attributes,  the 
deified  potencies,  of  the  incomprehensible  and  inaccessible  being. 
Cause  and  prototype  of  the  visible  world,  he  has  a  double  essence  ; 
he  possesses  and  resumes  the  two  principles  of  all  terrestrial  gener- 
ations, the  male  and  female  principle  ;  he  is  a  duality  in  unity  ;  a 
conception  which,  in  consequence  of  the  duplication  of  the  symbols, 
has  given  birth  to  the  series  of  female  divinities.  Such  is  the  di- 
vinity revealed  to  us  by  Egyptologists.  Less  fortunate  than  M.  de 
Rouge*  and  M.  Mariette,  we  have  at  our  disposition,  in  place  of  num- 
berless pages  covering  the  walls  of  the  temples  and  the  rolls  of  the 
sacred  rituals,  only  some  rare  and  brief  inscriptions ;  but  these  suf- 
fice to  indicate  the  path  to  be  followed,  and  to  verify  the  numerous 
and  profound  analogies  that  exist  between  Egypt  and  Phoenicia. 
It  has  been  already  demonstrated  that  the  worship  of  the  Pho3ni- 
cian  Baal  implied  the  primitive  belief  in  one  God  ;  the  same  also 
as  regards  the  worship  of  the  Assyrian  Bel,  the  Syrian  Hadad, 
the  Moloch  of  the  Ammonites,  the  Marna  of  the  Philistines,  etc., 
divinities  whose  very  names  involve  the  notion  of  unity  and  supre- 
macy." * 

Both  M.  Mariette  and  M.  Maspero  cite  a  passage  from  lain- 
blichus  as  expressing  the  actual  truth,  which  reads  thus :  — 

"  The  God  of  the  Egyptians  when  he  is  considered  as  the  hidden 
force  animating  all  things  with  light  is  called  A  mm  on  ;  when  he  is 
the  intelligent  spirit  who  resumes  all  other  intelligences  he  is 
Emeth  ;  when  he  is  that  which  accomplishes  all  things  with  skill 
and  truth  he  is  named  Phtah ;  and  finally,  when  he  is  the  good 
and  beneficent  being  he  is  Osiris."  2 

On  the  subject  of  the  Babylonian  pantheon  Mr.  George  Smith 
remarks :  — 

"  At  the  head  of  the  Babylonian  mythology  stands  a  deity  who 
was  sometimes  identified  with  the  heavens,  sometimes  considered  as 
the  ruler  and  god  of  heaven.  This  deity  is  named  Aim,  his  sign  is 
the  simple  star  (Accad.  An),  the  symbol  of  divinity,  and  at  other 
times  the  Maltese  cross  (Susru).  Anu  represents  abstract  divinity, 
and  he  appears  as  an  original  principle,  perhaps  the  original  prin- 
ciple of  nature.  *He  represents  the  universe  as  the  upper  and  lower 
regions,  and  when  these  were  divided,  the  upper  region  or  heaven 
was  called  Anu,  while  the  lower  region  or  earth  was  called  Anatu, 
Anatu  being  the  female  principle  or  wife  of  Anu."  3 

1  Melanges  d'Archeologie,  pp.  50,  51. 

2  Mariette,  Muse'e  a  Boulaq,  p.  22  ;  Maspero,  Hist.  Anc.,  pp.  28,  29. 

3  Chal.  Acct.  of  Gen.,  p.  54. 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  263 

Professor  Max  Miiller  has  the  following  relative  to  the  Chinese : 

"  In  China,  where  there  always  has  been  a  strong  tendency 
towards  order  and  regularity,  some  kind  of  system  has  been  super- 
induced by  the  recognition  of  two  powers,  one  active,  the  other 
passive,  one  male,  the  other  female,  which  comprehend  everything, 
and  which,  in  the  mind  of  the  more  enlightened,  tower  high  above 
the  great  crowd  of  minor  spirits.  These  two  powers  are  within  and 
beneath  and  behind  everything  that  is  double  in  nature,  and  they 
have  frequently  been  identified  with  heaven  and  earth.  We  can 
clearly  see,  however,  that  the  spirit  of  heaven  occupied  from  the 
beginning  a  much  higher  position  than  the  spirit  of  the  earth.  It 
is  in  the  historical  books  only,  in  the  Shu-king,  that  we  are  told 
that  heaven  and  earth  together  are  the  father  and  mother  of  all 
things."1 

SEC.  99.  Professor  Miiller  appears  to  doubt  whether  the  two 
principles,  male  and  female,  assimilated  to  heaven  and  earth,  were 
really  primitive  in  the  Chinese  system.  But  this  doctrine  apper- 
tained to  the  cosmogony ;  and  the  recent  investigations  of  Dr. 
Schlegel  seem  to  me  perfectly  conclusive,  that  originally  the  Chi- 
nese system  was  strictly  analogous  to  the  doctrines  held  by  other  an- 
cient peoples.  Yang  and  Yin,  light  and. darkness,  male  and  female, 
assimilated  to  heaven  and  earth,  both  proceeding  from  a  primal  an- 
drogynous principle,  constituted  the  fundamental  ideas  which  were 
truly  archaic  in  China.  I  cite  the  following  from  among  number- 
less testimonies,  brought  out  by  Dr.  Schlegel 's  researches  :  — 

"  Before  the  two  principles,  or  laws,  were  separated,  their  ether 
was  a  mixture  like  an  egg,  says  the  Yi-king.  Thus,  as  they  had 
assimilated  heaven  to  the  active  and  generative  force  of  nature,  or 
to  Yang,  and  the  earth  to  the  passive  force  of  nature  which  re- 
ceives and  produces,  or  to  Yin,  they  named  these  two  forces  heaven 
and  earth,  from  whence  was  derived  the  supposition  that  at  first 
heaven  and  earth  were  in  a  chaotic  state."2 

Human  nature  as  the  product  of  the  interaction  of  both  was  sup- 
posed to  involve  completely  the  attributes  of  both,  and  was  thus  a 
microcosm.  The  original  identity  of  this  Chinese  system  with  that 
of  the  Babylonians  and  Egyptians,  and  their  derivation  from  some 
common  source,  are  matters  upon  which,  in  the  present  state  of 
knowledge,  it  is  difficult  to  harbor  serious  doubts.  Among  the 

1  Lect.  on  Sci.  of  Religion.     Vid.  Littell's  Living  Age,  Aug.  20,  1870,  p.  486. 

2  Uranographie  Chinois,  p.  254. 


264 


HAR-MOAD. 


more  recent  labors  of  M.  Lenormant,  devoted  to  the  analysis  of  the 
religious  ideas  prevalent  in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates,  is  that  re- 
lating to  the  primitive  Accadian  system,  as  distiviguished  from  the 
Chaldyeo-Baby  Ionian.  This  study,  if  my  estimate  is  correct,  is  the 
least  satisfactory  among  the  author's  usually  happy  efforts  and 
admirable  expositions  of  primitive  doctrines,  and  needs  a  thorough 
revision  throughout.  Among  other  points  in  relation  to  which  the 
author  allows  himself,  as  it  appears  to  me,  to  be  greatly  misled,  and 
to  which  he  attaches  constantly  an  undue  importance,  is  that  in- 
dicated in  the  subjoined  passage  :  — 

"  At  the  summit  of  the  (divine)  hierarchy,  they  (the  Accadians) 
admit,  it  is  true,  a  certain  number  of  divinities,  as  An,  Dingir,  or 
Dimir.  But  their  nature  does  not  differ  essentially  from  that  of 
the  inferior  spirits,  the  name  given  to  these,  Zi  ('  spirit '),  being 
the  same  as  that  applied  to  the  gods.  These  (divinities)  are  beings 
of  the  same  essence,  distinguished  solely  by  a  particular  qualifica- 
tion ;  their  power  is  supposed  to  be  greater  than  that  of  others."  1 

Thus,  a  fact  which  appears  constantly  in  the  books  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments,  namely,  the  application  of  the  same  terms 
(Heb.  psp,  Gr.  Tn/cS/xa,  "  spirit ")  to  the  Deity,  the  Divine  Spirit, 
and  to  the  created  finite  spirit,  M.  Lenormant  interprets,  in  the 
foregoing  extract,  as  derogatory  to  the  Accadian  conception  of  the 
Divine  Being,  as  evidence  of  the  want  of  systematic  arrangement 
and  of  a  marked  difference  from  the  Chaldseo-Baby Ionian  pantheon. 
The  grave  and  peculiar  importance  which  he  attaches  to  the  simple 
circumstance  indicated  is  in  my  view  wholly  misleading  in  tend- 
ency. That,  however,  which  more  especially  concerns  our  topic  is 
the  following  extract :  — 

"  Two  of  the  greatest  of  these  gods,  those  who  take  rank  before 
all  others,  namely,  Anna  and  Hea,  have  no  higher  titles  than  those 
of  'spirit  of  heaven'  (Zi-anna),  and  'spirit  of  earth'  (Zi-kia). 
It  is  thus  that  they  are  addressed  in  the  most  solemn  invocations, 
and  this  characterizes  purely  their  original  and  fundamental  na- 
ture."2 

These  statements  are  eminently  correct;  but  the  titles  referred 
to,  which  the  author  seems  to  interpret  as  of  a  low  order,  are  ac- 
tually those  that  tend  to  identify  Anna  and  Hea,  and  the  notions 
thus  attached  to  them,  with  the  highest  divinities  and  the  most  ele- 

1  La  Magie,  p.  139.  2  Ibid.,  pp.  139,  140. 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  265 

vated  order  of  conceptions  among  those  nations  the  most  ancient 
and  renowned  in  antiquity.  According  to  these  titles,  Anna,  as 
"  spirit  of  heaven,"  is  one  with  the  Babylonian  Anu,  the  Chinese 
Tien,  the  Egyptian  Horus,  primitively  put  for  heaven  in  opposition 
to  Set)  the  earth.  Hea  also  corresponds,  as  *'  spirit  of  earth,"  to  his 
strictly  Babylonian  character  as  "  lord  of  the  earth  "  and  of  "  man- 
kind," and  may  be  assimilated  to  the  Egyptian  Turn,  who  dwells 
alone  on  the  "  abyss  of  waters."  In  point  of  fact,  Anna  and  Hea, 
both  male  divinities  put  in  opposition,  appertain  to  the  second  stage 
of  development  from  the  primal  androgynous  principle.  The  first 
stage  is  that  in  which  the  one  proceeds  to  duality,  male  and  female, 
heaven  and  earth,  like  Anu  and  Anatu.  In  the  second  stage  the 
two  principles  proceed  to  duplicate  themselves.  Heaven  as  male 
takes  a  celestial  goddess,  and  earth  as  female  takes  a  male  divinity, 
becoming  the  same  as  the  Babylonian  Hea  and  his  wife  Nin-ki-gal, 
who,  in  the  second,  replaces  Anatu  in  the  first  stage.  Anna  and 
Hea,  as  male  deities,  assimilated  to  heaven  and  earth,  appertain  to 
the  second  stage.  Their  position  is  thus  perfectly  normal,  and  their 
qualifications  very  significant  of  the  higher  order  of  conceptions, 
common  to  the  most  ancient  and  elaborate  systems. 

SEC.  100.  The  subjoined  extracts  from  M.  De  Vogue  exhibit  in 
a  very  clear  light  the  system,  in  its  full  development,  whose  funda- 
mental conceptions  were  doubtless  primitive  and  widely  prevalent 
in  antiquity :  — 

44  In  principle,  two  causes  have  presided  at  the  formation  of  all 
things,  the  father  and  the  mother  ;  the  father  is  light,  the  mother  is 
darkness.  The  subdivisions  of  light  are  heat,  dryness,  rarity,  and 
celerity ;  while  the  subdivisions  of  darkness  are  cold,  humidity, 
heaviness,  and  slowness.  To  the  first  is  assimilated  the  superior 
hemisphere,  and  to  the  second  the  inferior  hemisphere.  The  four 
elements  are  divided  according  to  the  same  order :  fire  and  air  ap- 
pertain to  the  male  principle,  water  and  earth  to  the  female ;  but 
these  four  elements  proceed  in  the  formation  of  things  according  to 
the  method  of  generation  ;  the  two  sexes  reappear  at  each  stage, 
from  whence  results  this  confusion  (only  apparent)  that  the  air, 
male  in  relation  to  the  two  inferior  elements,  is  female  in  relation 
to  fire ;  and  that  water,  female  in  relation  to  the  superior  elements, 
is  male  in  respect  to  the  earth." 

44  In  the  mathematical  order,  the  first  principle  is  that  of  the 
monad  and  of  odd  or  fortunate  numbers ;  while  the  second  is  that  of 
the  dyad  and  of  even  or  unlucky  numbers." 


266 


HAR-MOAD. 


"  In  the  moral  order,  life,  justice,  good,  appertain  to  the  first  prin- 
ciple ;  to  the  second,  death,  injustice,  and  evil." 

"  In  the  theogony  and  the  astronomical  order,  the  sun  appertains 
to  the  first  principle,  the  moon  to  the  second ;  the  five  planets  range 
under  the  one  or  the  other ;  the  seven  planets  (including  the  sun 
and  moon)  contain  the  causes  of  all  things,  but  these  are  subor- 
dinate to  the  influence  of  the  superior  world  of  fixed  stars,  or  of 
the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac.  These  twelve  signs  in  their  turn  are 
apportioned  between  the  two  principles,  accordingly  as  they  are 
considered  male  or  female  ;  and  the  same  is  true  ot  the  thirty-six 
principal  constellations,  which  preside,  some  over  the  celestial,  and 
others  over  the  subterranean  world.  This  entire  'celestial  army' 
is  animated  and  active  ;  each  of  those  stars  is  a  god  or  genius,  and 
ranks  in  a  divine  hierarchy,  at  the  summit  of  which  appears  the 
indeterminate  notion  of  a  supreme  providence." 

"  The  reciprocal  action  of  all  these  things,  their  combinations 
and  antagonisms,  produce  all  the  phenomena  of  the  sensible  world, 
since  nature  is  composed  of  contraries,  and  c  harmony  is  born  of  the 
reaction  of  contraries.'  We  might  almost  add,  from  the  identity 
of  contraries,  since  this  celebrated  formula  constitutes  actually  the 
basis  of  the  entire  system."  1 

The  remarkable  accuracy  of  the  foregoing  analysis  of  ancient 
doctrines,  based  upon  a  similar  statement  derived  from  a  work  of 
Origen,  as  the  author  remarks,  "  happily  recovered  to  science  by 
M.  Miller "  (not  the  author  of  the  present  treatise),  is  not  only 
attested  by  the  combined  results  of  modern  researches,  but  is  ad- 
mitted by  European  scholars  generally  who  have  devoted  special 
attention  to  these  subjects.  In  many  of  the  details  as  here  set 
forth,  the  system  had  submitted  doubtless  to  additions  and  modifi- 
cations ;  but  the  fundamental  conceptions  were  truly  archaic,  and 
appertained  to  the  primitive  stratum  of  ideas  constituting  the  oldest 
developed  forms  of  religious  belief  of  which  we  have  any  know- 
ledge. That  which  here  appertains  to  the  superior  and  inferior 
hemispheres,  or  to  the  two  chief  divisions  of  the  sphere,  is  other- 
wise predicated  of  the  two  principal  divisions  of  the  cosmos,  heaven 
and  earth,  or  the  upper  and  lower  regions,  according  to  Mr.  Smith, 
assimilated  to  Anu  and  the  female  principle  Anatu.  This  equiva- 
lence of  the  two  halves  of  the  sphere  to  the  two  divisions  of  the 
cosmos  is  that  upon  which,  in  the  previous  chapters,  we  have  so 
frequently  insisted.  In  all  the  ancient  systems,  that  which  is  astro- 

1  Mttanyes,  etc.,  pp.  57-59. 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  267 

nomically  the  superior  hemisphere  is  symbolically  the  heaven,  and 
that  which  is  astronomically  the  lower  hemisphere  is  symbolically 
the  earth.  Consequently  the  goddess  who  presides  over  the  inferior 
hemisphere  is  only  another  form  of  the  earth  goddess,  and  the  same 
remark  applies  as  well  to  the  male  divinity  directly  associated  with 
this  goddess,  when,  as  in  the  case  of  Hea,  such  male  personage  is 
placed  in  opposition  to  another,  as  Anu,  for  instance,  presiding  over 
the  superior  hemisphere.  Another  principle  whose  importance  is 
now  well  understood,  and  which  is  generally  recognized  among 
mythologists,  may  be  thus  formulated :  the  goddess  who  personifies 
the  primal  chaos  in  the  cosmogony  reappears  in  the  theogony  as 
great  mother,  and  in  the  planetary  system  as  Venus ;  thus,  Tiamat 
or  Omarka  is  one  with  Bilat,  and  the  latter  is  only  another  form  of 
Ishtar,  the  Babylonian  Venus.  What  we  term  the  earth  goddess, 
therefore,  properly  represents  them  all.  M.  De  Vogue  observes  in 
reference  to  the  various  forms  under  which  this  female  divinity 
appears :  — 

"We  are  forced  to  recognize  in  these  different  personages  the 
successive  and  local  modifications  of  a  single  divinity,  whose  wor- 
ship had  spread  through  the  entire  eastern  basin  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, and  had  ramifications  even  into  the  Indo-Persian  world. 
This  divinity  is  no  other  .than  the  great  goddess  of  nature,  the 
great  mother,  designated  by  the  vague  title  of  the  Oriental  Venus, 
of  whom  Lucien  affirms  that  she  partakes  alike  of  the  character 
of  Juno,  of  Minerva,  of  Venus,  of  the  Moon,  of  Cybele,  of  Diana,  of 
Nemesis,  and  of  the  Furies,  thus  adding  testimony  to  the  unity  of 
the  original  conception."  l 

SEC.  101.  The  foregoing  remarks  will  serve  to  convey  a  general 
idea  as  respects  the  character  of  the  earth  goddess,  as  well  as  in 
regard  to  the  comparative  position  conceived  to  be  occupied  by  her, 
in  relation  to  the  male  divinities  in  the  various  systems  of  anti- 
quity. We  are  prepared  now  to  enter  upon  still  further  investiga- 
tions, with  a  view  to  attain  more  precise  and  definite  ideas  respect- 
ing the  various  points  already  noticed.  It  is  important  to  gain  a 
better  defined  notion,  if  possible,  respecting  the  relation  of  the 
goddess,  so  termed,  to  the  male  principle,  or  to  the  primal  divinity. 
On  this  point  the  completely  satisfactory  results  of  M.  De  Vogue's 
researches,  as  presented  in  the  extracts  cited  in  our  second  chapter, 

1  Ibid.,  p.  48. 


268 


HAR-MOAD. 


should  be  here  recalled.  The  Phoenician  expressions,  "  face  of 
Baal "  and  "  name  of  Baal,"  to  which  are  compared  the  Biblical 
phrases  "face  of  Jehovah"  and  "name  of  Jehovah,"  since  in  the 
original  texts  there  is  a  direct  analogy  between  the  two  series  of 
expressions,  are  regarded  by  M.  De  Vogue  as  sufficiently  determin- 
ing the  primitive  conception  which  gave  rise  at  a  subsequent  period 
to  the  notion  of  a  distinct  goddess.  But  it  is  evident  that  origi- 
nally the  idea  was  held  as  in  no  sense  inconsistent  with  a  pure 
theism,  a  proper  monotheistic  doctrine.  There  was  not  here  an 
absolute  unity,  nor  were  there  two  utterly  distinct,  separate  person- 
alities. It  was  rather  the  notion  of  an  inherent,  necessary  relation 
of  two  principles,  like  plus  and  minus,  positive  and  negative.  It 
was  the  primal  deity  in  his  external  manifestation ;  and  as  the  pro- 
cess of  creation  according  to  all  the  cosmogonies,  the  Mosaic  in- 
cluded, was  regarded  as  in  some  sense  a  generation,  the  idea  of  a 
conjugal  relation  was  certainly  very  natural  and  almost  inevitable. 
That  the  sacred  writers  in  their  representation  of  the  Divine  Being 
in  his  relation  to  the  world,  and  especially  to  redeemed  humanity, 
ever  intended  wholly  to  exclude  such  a  conception  is  to  me  more 
than  doubtful,  and  indeed  I  believe  the  contrary  is  susceptible  of 
the  plainest  demonstration.  Both  in  the  Old  and  New  Testament 
there  are  scores  of  passages  distinctly  involving  this  idea,  and  in 
fact,  one  might  almost  say  that  they  constitute  the  favorite  mode 
of  setting  forth  the  relation  of  divinity  to  humanity,  especially  to 
the  church.  It  would  be,  I  think,  a  very  singular  principle  of 
exegesis  that  would  construe  this  mass  of  scriptural  phraseology  as 
merely  a  customary  figure  of  speech.  It  was  a  form  of  speech,  at 
any  rate,  that  gave  color  to  a  prevalent  doctrine  which  had  been 
terribly  perverted,  and  common  prudence  would  dictate  the  employ- 
ment of  some  other  form  of  hyperbole,  if  this  was  all  that  was 
intended.  There  was,  however,  a  great  difference  between  the  Bib- 
lical standpoint  and  that  of  surrounding  peoples,  which  will  be 
brought  out  in  the  sequel  of  these  researches. 

The  goddess  of  the  ancient  religions,  then,  was  not  wholly  an 
invention,  a  simple  product  of  the  degeneracy  of  man.  It  was  a 
most  lamentable  misconception,  a  perversion  of  a  sacred  and  ele- 
vated doctrine,  which,  owing  to  the  gross  passions  of  mankind,  was 
sure  to  be  corrupted,  at  the  same  time  that  it  was  necessary  to  be 
revealed.  It  is  probable  that  the  earth  goddess  was  vaguely  and 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  269 

popularly  assimilated  to  the  earth  in  general,  or  to  the  entire  earth. 
But  there  is  much  reason  to  believe  that  such  a  vague  association 
was  not  primitive,  nor  wholly  legitimate.  The  idea  was  rather,  I 
think,  that  of  a  divided,  a  cultivated,  an  inhabited  earth.  The 
wild,  uninhabited  regions  were  more  regarded  as  the  abode  of 
demoniacal  powers,  the  imps  of  darkness,  than  as  the  domain  of 
that  goddess  whose  character  better  comported  with  the  customs 
and  conceptions  of  an  industrial,  civilized  life,  than  with  a  state  of 
savagism.  In  a  political  and  religious  sense,  however,  the  earth  in 
its  uncultivated  state,  and  peopled  by  uncivilized  hordes,  was  pre- 
cisely that  primal  chaos  of  boiling,  surging  waters,  personified  by 
the  goddess  Omarka,  whom  Bel,  the  organizer,  divided  with  his 
sword  when  he  set  the  world  in  order.  This  was  the  battle  be- 
tween Bel  and  the  dragon  Tiamat,  who  represented  the  chaotic 
abyss.  But  as  M.  Lenormant  has  correctly  observed,  that  which  in 
the  cosmogony  and  in  the  process  of  creation  appears  as  a  battle 
reappears  in  the  theogony  under  the  form  of  the  conjugal  relation, 
and  it  is  this  stage  to  which  the  earth  goddess  pertains  in  the  more 
complete  development.  She  represents,  then,  a  divided,  a  cultivated, 
an  inhabited  earth,  the  "celestial  earth,"  in  fact,  in  the  sense  which 
we  have  learned  to  attach  to  this  phrase.  The  notion  thus  con- 
ceived and  defined  is  precisely  that  involved  by  the  Biblical  writers 
in  the  phraseology  just  referred  to,  which,  among  the  Phoenicians 
and  other  peoples,  had  given  rise  to  the  conception  of  a  distinct 
goddess.  The  celestial  earth,  as  we  have  seen,  was  a  politico-reli- 
gious organization  among  men,  which  really  constituted  the  union  of 
church  and  state,  supposed  to  be  under  the  divine  sanction ;  it  was, 
so  to  speak,  a  heavenly  kingdom  transferred  to  earth,  conceived  as 
the  organization  of  divinity  in  humanity.  But  otherwise  conceived 
this  was  the  earth  goddess,  and  the  Accadian  phrase  An-ki,  "a 
divine,  a  heavenly  earth,"  in  which  sense  alone  it  would  be  often 
necessary  to  interpret  it,  was  otherwise  put  for  the  goddess  earth, 
or  the  earth  goddess.  But  we  saw  in  the  last  chapter  that  a  tradi- 
tional and  even  geographical  element  was  primitively  inherent  in 
the  conception  of  the  celestial  earth,  and  that  the  subsequent  divorce 
of  the  notion  from  this  element  resulted  in  a  pantheistic  view  of 
God  and  the  world.  Exactly  the  same  thing  occurred  in  relation 
to  the  earth  goddess,  whose  character  in  later  periods  was  identified 
with  this  pantheistic  philosophy.  These  are  points  to  which  our 


270 


HAR-MOAD. 


attention  is  to  be  now  directed.  The  aim  will  be  to  establish  an 
original  traditional  and  geographical  element  in  the  notion  of  the 
earth  goddess. 

SEC.  102.  The  entire  evidence  heretofore  presented,  tending  to 
show  that  the  particular  heaven  and  earth  known  to  the  first  men 
was  really  the  heaven  and  earth  to  which  all  the  ancient  cosmog- 
onies primarily  related,  has  a  similar  bearing  also  upon  the  ques- 
tion now  before  us.  It  goes  far  to  establish  the  conclusion  that 
the  primitive  goddess  was  none  other  than  this  primitive  earth, 
placed  in  immediate  relation  to  the  celestial  space  to  which  the  ori- 
ginal male  divinity  had  been  assimilated.  The  Vedic  Ida,  origi- 
nally put  for  the  "  earth,"  was  especially  associated  with  the  para- 
disiacal mount  in  Hindu  tradition,  from  whence  it  might  be  inferred 
that  Ida  as  earth  goddess  was  identified  with  Mt.  Mem,  to  which 
likewise  the  notion  of  "  celestial  earth  "  was  attached.  The  fact  that 
the  pyramidal  structures  of  Babylon  and  Borsippa  were  regarded  as 
temples  of  An-ki,  and  were  designed  as  imitations  of  the  traditional 
mount,  affords  another  confirmation  of  our  hypothesis,  since  the 
phrase  An-hi  is  equally  understood  as  the  earth  goddess. 

But  M.  Lenormant  has  developed  a  class  of  facts  pertaining  to 
Is-tar,  the  Babylonian  Venus,  in  his  critical  studies  of  the  Himyaric 
inscriptions,  that  have  a  direct  bearing  upon  the  particular  topic  in 
hand,  and  which  appear  to  be  quite  conclusive.  The  results  arrived 
at  may  be  thus  stated  :  — 

1st.  The  god  Ath-tor,  so  frequently  called  in  the  Himyaric  in- 
scriptions, is  a  masculine,  or  more  correctly  an  androgynous  form 
of  the  Oriental  Venus,  like  the  Venus  barbata  of  Cyprus.  The 
Canaanites  gave  a  feminine  termination  to  this  divine  name,  from 
whence  the  well-known  Ashtoreth,  Greek  Astarte.  But  in  the  As- 
syrian Ishtar,  which  is  the  more  ancient  form  of  the  name,  the  fem- 
inine ending  does  not  appear.  In  the  Himyaric  Ath-tar,  the  s  is 
changed  to  £,  to  which  corresponds  the  cuneiform  Atar-samain, 
"  Atar  of  the  heavens,"  proving  the  equivalence  of  Ath-tar^  As-tar, 
and  Atar,  to  the  Assyrian  Ish-tar.  The  original  sense  of  As-tar  is 
"  the  goddess,"  and  it  was  only  at  a  later  period,  when  polytheism 
arose,  that  the  term  came  to  denote  one  among  many  goddesses. 

2d.  Ishtar  is  proved  by  the  cuneiform  texts  to  be  the  same  as  Assat, 
"  the  mistress,"  and  this  last  is  assimilated  by  M.  Lenormant  to  the 
Hebrew  Ishah  (nt#s),  "  woman,"  the  feminine  form  of  Ish 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  271 

"  man,"  the  two  being  generic  terms  for  "  man  "  and  "  woman." 
The  form  Ishah  is  the  name  first  bestowed  upon  Eve  by  Adam 
(Gen.  ii.  23).1 

The  opinion  was  strenuously  maintained  by  some  of  the  older 
mythologists,  though  not  much  importance  has  been  attached  to  it 
of  late,  that  really  the  goddess  primitive  in  the  ancient  religions 
was  no  other  than  the  Biblical  Eve.  In  the  sense  that  all  the 
mythologies  were  founded  upon  the  Mosaic  history,  this  opinion 
was  very  erroneous.  The  great  races  diverging  from  the  original 
centre  of  human  populations,  each  independently  of  the  others, 
naturally  preserved  some  recollections  of  the  primitive  epoch. 
Among  these  races,  the  Babylonians  preserved  the  most  distinct 
recollections,  perhaps,  of  any  ;  though  there  exists  a  remarkable 
agreement  between  all  the  ancient  traditions,  even  in  those  partic- 
ulars and  details  where  we  should  least  expect  to  find  it.  But  to 
return  to  the  name  of  Ishtar,  as  equivalent  to  the  Hebrew  Ishah,  as 
generic  title  of  the  "  woman."  Professor  Bush  has  the  following 
remarks  upon  this  name  bestowed  upon  the  Biblical  Eve  :  "  The 
original  word  for  4  woman  '  is  Isha,  the  feminine  of  Ish,  '  man,'  and 
properly  signifies,  however  uncouth  the  sound  to  our  ears,  man-ness  " 
(Notes,  Gen.  ii.  23).  Compare  with  this  Rev.  Mr.  Sayce's  render- 
ing of  the  cuneiform  passage :  "  Venus  is  a  female  at  sunset ; 
Venus  is  a  male  at  sunrise,"  to  which  the  translator  adds  the  note : 
<;  The  Assyrian  word  here  is  very  remarkable,  Zi-ca-rat,  as  if  we 
could  coin  a  word  like  male-ess"  2  The  identity  in  import  between 
the  cuneiform  and  the  Hebrew  expressions,  being  generic  titles  of 
womankind,  their  application  to  Ishtar  as  "the  goddess"  on  one 
hand,  and  to  Eve  as  "  the  woman  "  on  the  other,  must  be  regarded 
as  quite  conclusive  evidence  that  the  really  primitive  goddess  was 
strictly  a  traditional  character,  and  that  this  tradition  was  derived 
from  the  mount  of  paradise,  associated  especially  with  the  particular 
earth  known  to  the  first  men,  and  with  the  female  personage  styled 
the  "  mother  of  all  living." 

SEC.  103.  At  the  time  of  bestowing  upon  Eve  the  name  of 
Ishah,  "  woman,"  Adam  addressed  to  her  the  following  language : 
"  Therefore  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  his  mother,  and  shall 

1  Vid.  Lettres  Assyriologique,  t.  ii.  pp.  54-59,  for  M.   Lenormant's  investiga- 
tions in  detail  on  the  points  noticed  in  the  text. 

2  Jour.  Bib.  Arch.  50.,  London,  iii.  pp.  196,  197,  and  note. 


272 


HAR-MOAD. 


cleave  unto  his  wife  ;  and  fhey  shall  be  one  flesh."  As  already  once 
observed,  this  exact  phraseology  is  interpreted  of  the  church  by  the 
apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  thus :  "  For  this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  his 
father  and  mother,  and  shall  be  joined  unto  his  wife,  and  they  two 
shall  be  one  flesh.  This  is  a  great  mystery  ;  but  I  speak  concern- 
ing Christ  and  the  church  "  (Eph.  v.  31,  32).  The  context  fur- 
ther develops  the  same  doctrine.  We  -thus  connect  in  the  most 
direct  and  reliable  manner  the  celestial  earth,  the  earth  goddess, 
and  the  church,  tracing  them  all  to  the  terrestrial  paradise  for  their 
origin.  We  assume,  consequently,  a  traditional  and  geographical 
element  as  actually  the  basis  of  the  original  conception  of  both  the 
celestial  earth  and  the  earth  goddess.  The  subsequent  divorce  of 
this  element  equally  from  both,  as  will  be  now  apparent,  gave  rise 
to  the  pantheistic  view  of  God  and  nature  with  which  both  were 
associated.  The  effect  was  to  convert  religious  doctrines,  sacred 
traditions,  into  mere  speculative  principles,  and  to  interpret  these  of 
the  entire  heavens  and  earth,  of  the  cosmos  in  the  modern  sense, 
instead  of  its  primitive  and  traditional  sense. 

We  are  prepared  now  to  enter  still  more  into  the  details  of  the 
conception  embodied  in  the  celestial  earth  assimilated  to  the  earth 
goddess.  The  assimilation  of  the  cosmos  to  the  temple,  the  funda- 
mental conception  of  both  proceeding  from  that  of  division,  was 
sufficiently  established  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  the  present  treatise. 
Now  the  two  typical  instruments  of  division  in  antiquity  were  the 
sword  and  the  plough,  to  both  of  which,  various  symbolical  ideas 
were  attached  relating  to  "  foundations,"  whether  of  the  cosmos, 
the  temple,  or  the  terrestrial  kingdom,  modeled  after  the  order  and 
divisions  of  the  sphere.  Thus,  we  have  seen  in  the  "Fragments  of 
Berosus,"  on  one  hand,  that  Belus,  when  he  commenced  to  set  the 
world  in  order,  and  as  the  very  first  act  of  creation,  cut  the  woman 
asunder  who  personified  chaos  with  his  "  swqrd,"  forming  the  hea- 
vens and  earth  out  of  the  two  portions  thus  divided.  Again,  the  sword 
was  the  symbol  of  power,  of  that  despotic  force,  in  fact,  by  which 
alone  the  rude  and  chaotic  elements  of  human  society  were  brought 
into  subjection,  the  principle  of  order  introduced,  and  the  founda- 
tions of  the  ancient  kingdoms  laid.  On  the  other  hand,  we  have 
seen  the  "  plough  "  introduced,  to  which  a  bull  and  heifer  had  been 
yoked  in  the  ceremonies  of  founding  towns  and  cities,  of  dividing 
off  the  plot  to  be  occupied  as  the  site ;  in  the  partition  of  the  soil 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  273 

to  be  allotted  to  cultivators,  also  ;  the  divisions  in  all  cases  being 
located  according  to  the  method  of  forming  the  temple,  and  with 
especial  reference  to  the  cardinal  regions,  or  the  primary  divisions 
of  the  cosmos.  The  plough  was  not  less  a  symbol  of  a  divided 
earth  in  general,  a  cultivated  field,  an  inhabited  district,  and  of  a 
peaceful,  industrial  life.  It  was  by  virtue  of  these  divisions,  often 
marked  by  great  highways  leading  off  from  the  national  temple  to 
the  extreme  boundaries  of  the  state,  that  the  entire  kingdom  was 
conceived  as  a  great  temple ;  and  it  was  by  virtue  of  their  location 
in  the  direction  of  the  cardinal  regions  that  the  state  was  deemed 
a  cosmos,  a  celestial  earth,  a  heavenly  kingdom. 

But  the  primitive  and  vital  connection  of  the  various  conceptions 
here  referred  to  will  be  better  understood  by  a  brief  analysis  of  the 
sense  attached  to  certain  terms  in  common  use  among  the  ancients. 
The  Hebrew  Bara  (S"u),  denoting  the  first  act  of  creation  in  the 
Mosaic  account,  employed  also  in  speaking  of  the  creation  of  a  new 
heaven  and  earth,  has  the  primary  sense  of  "  to  cut,  to  carve,  to 
form  by  cutting  and  carving."  Dr.  Gesenius  observes  substantially, 
in  reference  to  this  term,  that  "the  notion  of  breaking,  cutting, 
separating,  is  inherent  in  the  radical  syllable  par  (15),  as  well  as 
in  the  softened  form  bar  (in)."  From  these  two  forms  proceed 
various  notions  and  terms,  among  which  I  note  the  following:  — 

1st.  The  Hebrew  verb  Pa-rar  (~nrO>  "to  cut  in,  to  plough  ; "  in 
one  of  its  modifications,  "  to  split,  divide,  or  plough  the  sea ; "  and 
the  same  verb  affords  the  substantive  form  Par  ("")?:),  ua  young 
bullock,  a  heifer,"  and  from  this  last  comes  another  substantive 
Pa-rah  (m-:),  "  a  young  cow,  a  cow  with  calf,  or  a  cow  for  the 
yoke."  The  Assyrian  language  has  the  form  Par  or  Par-ri,  "  bul- 
locks." We  see  here  that  the  plough  constitutes  the  special  instru- 
ment for  cutting,  dividing,  and  it  is  worthy  of  note  in  this  connec- 
tion that  the  Hebrew  Kha-rash  (ttnn),  "  to  cut  in,  engrave,  thence 
to  form,  make,  create,"  etc.,  has  likewise  the  sense  of  "  to  plough  ; " 
showing  that  the  two  notions  of  "fabricating,  creating,"  and  of 
44  ploughing,"  proceeding »from  the  one  idea  of  cutting  or  of  divi- 
sion, were  habitually  associated. 

2d.  Under  the  radical  syllable  Bar  we  may  note  the  Accadian 
Bar,  "  a  sword,"  otherwise  put  for  "  yoke,  pair,  double,  half,"  etc. 
In  the  Hebrew  we  have  not  only  Bara,  and  its  cognate  terms 
Bar  ah,  Bereeth,  heretofore  explained  in  these  pages,  but  Ba-raq 


274  HAR-MOAD. 


(p~a),  "  lightning,  glittering  sword."  Then  we  have  Bar 
son,"  from  Bara,  "  to  beget,"  and  Bar,  "  a  field,  arable  land," 
thence  "  corn,  the  fruit  of  the  field."  Here  we  have  again  the 
notions  involved  of  plough,  plough  ox,  or  of  taurus  and  the  heifer^ 
employed  in  agricultural  labors. 

SEC.  104.  We  come  now  to  illustrate  the  existence  of  a  similar 
class  of  ideas  connected  with  the  heavens.  The  sun  was  very  fre- 
quently, as  is  well  known,  assimilated  to  the  bull  or  taurus,  and  it 
is  a  remarkable  fact  that  this  celestial  taurus  was  conceived  to 
labor,  to  plough  in  the  heavenly  fields,  the  same  as  his  earthly  rep- 
resentative in  terrestrial  fields.  The  cuneiform  texts  afford  direct 
proof  of  the  prevalence  of  such  notions.  As  shown  by  M.  Lenor- 
mant,  and  as  well  known  to  Assyriologues,  the  generic  name  for  the 
planets  in  the  inscriptions  is  the  Accadian  Lubat,  Assyrian  Bibbu, 
both  denoting  primarily  some  animal  whose  species  is  not  yet 
determined,  though  Dr.  Delitzsch  conjectures  with  considerable 
probability  that  the  ram  or  he-goat  is  intended.1  In  any  event,  the 
application  of  these  generic  terms  to  designate  the  planets  proves 
that  at  an  extremely  remote  epoch  they  were  likened  to  animals, 
wandering  and  grazing  in  the  celestial  pastures.  But  the  Accadian 
name  of  the  planet  Jupiter  is  Lubat-guttav,  where  the  element  gut- 
tav,  or  gut-tarn,  needs  explanation.  This  term,  however,  is  well  un- 
derstood by  its  equation  in  the  texts  to  the  Assyrian  phrase  pitnu 
sa  same,  interpreted  by  M.  Lenormant  as  "  the  furrow  of  heaven," 
that  is  to  say,  "  the  ecliptic." 2  Jupiter  is  thus  the  planet  whose 
orbit  agrees  nearly  with  the  sun's  annual  course,  or  the  animal  that 
follows  in  the  celestial  furrow.  If,  then,  the  royal  planet  follows 
this  furrow,  what  animal  ploughs  it  ?  The  analogy  of  ideas,  as  well 
as  the  etymology  of  the  Accadian  term  Grut-tam,  will  suggest  the 
answer.  The  element  Crut  is  the  Accadian  name  of  the  bull  or 
taurus  (Rep.  246),  while  Tarn,  "  day,"  is  only  another  value  of  the 
sign  Ud,  "  the  sun  "  (Rep.  424).  The  phrase  Gut-tarn,  or  G-uttav, 
then,  literally  means  the  solar  bull,  and  the  furrow  followed  by  the 
planet  Lubat-guttav  is  that  ploughed  by.  the  celestial  taurus.  The 
existence  of  a  profound  symbolism  in  the  astro-mythology  of  the 
ancients  can  be  no  longer  doubted  in  view  of  these  most  singular 
conceptions. 

1  Lenormant,  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  371,  note.    Delitzsch,  Assyr.  Studien,  pp.  47, 48. 

2  Op.  cit.  p.  373,  note.     Cf.  2d  Rawl.  PI.  26,  1.  26. 


THE  CELESTIAL  EAKTH.  275 

The  sun  as  being  the  taurus  that  ploughs  the  celestial  field  was 
yoked  to  the  moon  as  cow  or  heifer,  and  we  know  that  the  moon 
was  usually  represented  by  a  cow  or  heifer  in  the  symbolism  of  the 
ancient  mythologies.  From  all  antiquity,  the  sun  and  moon  were 
taken  as  the  chief  dividers  of  time  into  seasons  and  months.  The 
solar  year  and  lunar  year  were  equally  ancient,  perhaps,  and  both 
orbs  were  naturally  taken  as  dividers  of  time.  But  astronomically, 
to  divide  the  year  into  four  seasons  is  to  divide  the  celestial  space 
into  four  principal  regions,  and  a  partition  of  the  year  into  twelve 
months  is  to  effect  a  partition  of  the  celestial  space  into  twelve 
regions,  corresponding  to  the  zodiacal  constellations,  or  the  divisions 
of  the  ecliptic.  There  was  thus  an  inherent,  necessary  relation 
between  the  divisions  of  time  and  those  of  space.  We  have  direct 
proof,  derived  from  the  cuneiform  texts,  that  the  principle  of  sex- 
ualism  was  applied  even  in  reference  to  time  and  space,  length  and 
breadth.  Thus,  the  Accadian  Efe,  "  phallus,  male,  length,  time,  a 
period  of  sixty  years,  or  losse"  (Rep.  161),  constitutes  a  determi- 
native for  length,  while  the  Accadian  Luku,  "  mother,  breadth " 
(Rep.  148),  constitutes  a  determinative  of  breadth,  associated  neces- 
sarily with  the  idea  of  space.1  There  was  a  perfect  consistency  in 
these  notions  with  fundamental  ideas.  The  heaven  was  assumed 
as  male,  the  earth  as  female,  the  one  as  father,  the  other  as 
mother.  The  divisions  of  time  depended  on  the  motions  of  the 
heavenly  bodies,  naturally  conducting  to  the  assimilation  of  time  to 
the  male  principle,  and  by  contrast  the  association  of  space  with 
the  female  principle  would  be  equally  natural. 

We  have  seen  in  the  extracts  cited  from  M.  De  Vogue  that  the 
sun  appertained  to  the  principle  of  light,  to  the  superior  hemi- 
sphere, to  heaven  ;  the  moon,  on  the  other  hand,  was  connected  with 
the  principle  of  darkness,  the  inferior  hemisphere,  symbolically 
taken  for  the  earth.  The  taurus,  according  to  this  system  of  ideas, 
was  symbol  of  the  heavens,  especially  of  the  sun,  and  the  heifer  or 
cow  of  the  earth,  particularly  the  moon  as  a  celestial  earth  or  ter- 
restrial heaven,  offering  thus  an  explanation  of  the  facts  to  which 
Dr.  Faber  alludes,  cited  in  a  previous  chapter,  relating  to  the  vision 

1  Vid.  Norris,  i.  p.  74.  Two  sets  of  terms  were  employed  denoting  length  and 
breadth,  buda  and  sakki  on  one  hand,  and  us  and  luku,  "  male  "  and  "  female,"  on 
the  other.  Usually  the  sexual  idea  was  disguised  by  mixing  the  terms,  as  MS  and 
sakki,  and  buda  and  luku.  But  this  was  not  always  done. 


276 


HAR-MOAD. 


of  Timarchus.  Primarily  we  have  here  the  same  circle  of  ideas 
symbolized  by  Taurus  as  involved  in  the  conception  of  the  god 
Anu  among  the  Babylonians.  At  first  the  taurus  represents  the 
upper  and  lower  regions,  the  same  as  Anu.  Secondly,  when  these 
regions  are  divided,  the  taurus  is  put  for  the  upper  regions  or  hea- 
ven, the  same  as  Anu,  and  the  heifer  or  cow  for  the  lower  regions 
or  earth,  corresponding  to  Anatu,  wife  of  Anu.  M.  Le*on  Carri  has 
the  following  relative  to  the  cosmical  doctrines  of  the  Persians :  — 

"  The  first  of  all  the  animals  was  the  Taurus,  which,  after  having 
existed  for  a  long  time  alone,  was  killed  by  Ahriman  (the  principle 
of  darkness  and  evil)  ;  but  his  soul  became  the  principle  of  all  ani- 
mated nature,  under  the  name  of  Goschoroun  ;  and  from  his  purified 
seed  were  born  two  Tauri,  one  male  and  the  other  female,  which 
produced  the  entire  animal  species.  Finally,  the  first  man  was 
Kaiomorts,  issuing  from  the  sides  of  the  Taurus  under  the  form  of 
a  youth."  l 

The  next  stage  of  development  would  be  the  assumption  of  a 
celestial  taurus  and  cow,  the  sun  and  moon,  ploughing  the  celestial 
fields  on  one  hand,  these  being  represented  by  the  terrestrial  bull 
and  cow,  laboring  in  terrestrial  fields  on  the  other  hand.  The  fur- 
rows mark  the  divisions  of  time  and  of  the  celestial  space  in  one 
case,  and  those  of  terrestrial  space,  located  with  special  reference 
to  the  former,  in  the  other  instance. 

SEC.  105.  It  will  not  be  difficult  to  apprehend  the  connection 
of  these  ideas  with  the  general  theory  of  the  celestial  earth,  and 
with  the  character  of  the  earth  goddess.  The  two  Accadian  char- 
acters employed  phonetically  in  writing  the  name  Is-tar,  Assyrian 
Ishtar,  appear  to  have  been  selected  as  well  in  reference  to  their 
ideographic  sense ;  and  as  such,  they  involve  the  exact  fundamental 
conception,  according  to  my  view,  of  the  earth  goddess,  considered 
as  "a  divided,  a  cultivated  earth."  Thus,  the  Accadian  Is  means 
"earth"  (Rep.  215)  ;  and  Tar  has  among  others  the  sense  of  "to 
cut,  to  separate,  to  divide"  (Rep.  5),  being  similar  to  that  involved 
in  the  Semitic  radicals  Bar  and  Par  already  considered.  The  lit- 
eral Accadian  meaning  of  Is-tar,  the  Babylonian  title  of  Venus, 
would  be,  therefore,  "a  divided,  a  ploughed,  a  cultivated  earth," 
and  I  believe  that  such  was  the  absolutely  primitive  idea  involved 
in  the  character  of  the  earth  goddess. 

1  Ancien  Orient,  etc.,  t.  ii.  p.  388. 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  277 

It  is  necessary  to  recall  here  the  facts  verified  in  a  previous  chap- 
ter (Sees.  55,  56)  relative  to  the  augurial  temple,  the  origin  of  the 
system  of  land  measuring  derived  from  it,  as  well  as  the  singular 
custom  of  yoking  a  bull  with  a  heifer,  attached  to  a  plough,  in 
marking  out  the  divisions  of  the  soil  and  the  sites  of  towns  and 
cities,  all  directly  associated  with  the  ceremonies  of  founding  cities 
and  even  states.  The  furrows  thus  ploughed  in  the  earth  were  lo- 
cated with  special  reference  to  those  ploughed  by  the  celestial  taurus 
and  cow  in  the  heavenly  fields.  The  terrestrial  city  and  kingdom 
were  thus  modeled  after  the  celestial  city  and  kingdom,  peopled  by 
the  heavenly  hosts,  who  were  frequently  compared  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  earthly  kingdom.  To  complete  the  conception  of  a  king- 
dom of  heaven  on  earth,  the  king  and  queen  were  assimilated  as 
human  rulers  to  the  sun  and  moon  as  celestial  rulers ;  while  the 
nobles  and  principal  officers  of  state  were  associated  with  the  prin- 
cipal constellations.  In  other  cases,  the  zodiacal  constellations, 
especially,  were  assimilated  to  the  twelve  tribes,  to  the  twelve  cities 
forming  the  state,  or  again  to  the  twelve  portions  into  which  the 
public  domain  was  partitioned.  These  notions  were  all  fundamental 
in  the  theory  of  the  ancient  civilizations;  and  we  have  shown  how 
widely  prevalent  they  were  in  antiquity.  Each  kingdom,  according 
to  these  conceptions,  was  a  cosmos,  a  temple,  a  celestial  earth,  a 
goddess,  and  finally,  in  other  terms,  a  church.  The  fundamental 
idea  was  that  of  division,  the  sword  and  the  plough  constituting 
the  typical  instruments  employed.  To  the  male  personage,  the 
organizer,  the  subduer  of  the  primal  chaos,  appertained  the  sword. 
To  the  female  personage,  the  goddess,  appertained  the  plough,  the 
harvest,  the  products  of  agricultural  industry.  Such  especially  was 
the  character  of  Ceres.  We  see  in  the  doctrines  shown  to  have 
been  fundamental  in  the  general  idea  of  a  celestial  earth,  as  well  as 
in  the  character  of  the  earth  goddess,  the  ground  of  a  multitude  of 
comparisons  employed  by  the  sacred  writers.  The  Saviour,  even, 
frequently  compares  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to  a  cultivated  field; 
and  such  comparisons  were  by  no  means  accidental ;  they  proceeded 
from  fundamental  notions,  associated  as  well  with  the  temple,  the 
world  or  cosmos,  as  with  a  divided,  cultivated  earth.  All  such 
illustrations  are  the  legitimate  expansion  of  certain  grand  ideas 
whose  origin  in  each  instance  we  have  traced  to  the  traditional 
abode  of  primeval  humanity.  We  see  here  the  origin  and  import, 


278 


HAR-MOAD. 


also,  of  that  class  of  Biblical  expressions  in  depicting  the  rise  and 
fall  of  empires,  upon  which,  as  previously  cited,  Bishop  Lowth  has 
expressed  some  very  correct  views,  yet  without  fully  apprehending 
the  real  significance  of  such  language.  The  double  conception  in- 
volved in  the  Hebrew  Olamand  Greek  Aion,  finds  a  proper  explana- 
tion likewise  in  the  facts  now  before  us.  The  sense  of  "  world  " 
relating  to  the  cosmos,  on  one  hand,  and  that  of  "  age,  dispensa- 
tion," relating  to  the  renewal  of  things,  to  new  creations,  new  hea- 
vens and  earth,  on  the  other  hand,  flow  naturally  from  the  principles 
set  forth  in  these  pages  relative  to  the  cosmogony,  the  temple,  the 
celestial  earth,  the  theory  of  the  ancient  civilizations.  The  founda- 
tion of  the  world  and  the  beginning  of  time  were  the  types  of  all 
other  foundations  and  cyclical  periods,  and  it  was  according  to  the 
strict  analogy  of  ideas  that  the  custom  prevailed  of  identifying  the 
commencement  of  chronological  eras  with  the  founding  of  the  state, 
or  of  the  temple  conceived  as  the  centre  of  the  state. 

SEC.  106.  With  the  present  chapter  closes  the  first  natural 
and  principal  division  of  this  entire  treatise.  Although  the  re- 
searches embodied  in  the  succeeding  chapters  are  strictly  related  to 
those  that  have  gone  before,  and  are  necessary  to  complete  the  view 
of  antiquity  which  it  has  been  our  aim  to  set  forth,  they  appertain 
to  a  class  of  ideas  somewhat  different,  constituting,  in  fact,  a  sep- 
arate division  of  our  work.  It  seems  proper,  therefore,  to  introduce 
here  a  brief  review  of  our  past  labors,  that  we  may  better  realize 
and  comprehend  the  standpoint  to  which  these  investigations  have 
conducted. 

The  founders  of  the  Babylonian  civilization,  when  they  migrated 
from  the  east  to  the  plains  of  Shinar,  were  not  the  sole  inheritors  of 
a  sacred  tradition  and  science  which  had  been  derived  from  that 
primitive  epoch  and  civilization  of  which  the  world  to-day  pos- 
sesses but  very  little  knowledge.  They  who  had  traveled  east- 
ward from  the  original  and  common  centre  of  populations,  settling 
in  the  region  now  known  as  China,  who  had  founded  in  fact  the 
celestial  empire  at  a  period  whose  chronology  is  almost  unknown, 
were  not  less  the  inheritors  of  a  tradition  and  science  which  formed 
the  basis  of  primitive  doctrines  and  of  politico-religious  institutions 
in  many  respects  strikingly  similar  to  those  that  constituted  the  ori- 
ginal stratum  of  the  Hamite  formations  of  Western  Asia.  The  first 
Hamite  populations  located  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile  were  by  no 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  279 

means  ignorant  of  the  same  doctrines,  the  same  theories,  pertaining 
alike  to  the  cosmos,  the  temple,  the  state,  to  the  organization  of 
terrestrial  kingdoms  after  the  model  of  the  celestial.  The  Aryans 
of  India  and  Persia,  as  well  as  those  of  Greece  and  Rome,  who 
seem  to  have  departed  from  the  common  home  of  all  the  races  at  a 
later  epoch,  who  had  each  for  themselves  established  independent 
types  of  civilization,  although  much  indebted  to  those  races  who  had 
preceded  them  in  the  path  of  human  development  and  progress, 
seem  to  have  preserved  distinct  recollections  of  the  traditional 
abode  from  which  all  had  departed,  and  of  the  ideas  primitively 
associated  with  it.  The  same  is  to  be  said  of  the  Semitic  races. 
Thus,  from  the  most  widely  separated  nationalities  of  the  old  world 
we  have  gathered  the  proofs  of  the  existence  of  primeval  doctrines, 
theories  of  a  cosmical,  religious,  political,  and  even  social  character, 
so  similar  in  detail  that  the  hypothesis  of  their  common  origin  in 
some  region  that  had  been  historically  and  geographically  the  centre 
of  all  these  peoples  seems  to  be  completely  established. 

There  was  nothing  crude,  nothing  that  indicates  a  low  order  of 
development,  in  those  ideas  so  full  of  symbolic  import,  according  to 
which  the  primitive  foundations  were  laid.  Nothing  more  elevated 
and  sublime,  nothing  more  broad  and  comprehensive,  has  ever  been 
put  forth  by  any  mind  than  those  doctrines  concerning  the  world 
assimilated  to  the  temple,  and  the  temple  to  man.  The  expansion 
of  the  idea  of  the  family  into  that  of  the  nation,  of  the  hearth  into 
that  of  the  national  altar,  on  one  side ;  the  construction  of  the 
ancient  kingdoms  after  the  model  of  the  heavenly,  as  embodied  in 
the  notion  of  the  celestial  earth,  on  the  other  side,  and  the  assimila- 
tion of  all  equally  to  the  cosmos,  to  the  cultivated  field,  and  to  the 
simple  apartments  of  the  private  dwelling,  —  the  one  ground  thought 
being  everywhere  that  of  division,  —  sufficiently  evince  the  profound 
insight,  the  sublimity  of  genius,  that  presided  over  the  beginnings 
of  all  human  knowledge  and  development.  It  might  well  be  said 
that  all  history,  all  historical  progress,  was  born  of  the  primitive 
cosmogony.  It  was  from  this  as  the  original  germ  that  everything 
in  antiquity  seemed  to  have  proceeded.  It  was  like  the  birth  of  the 
world  from  some  mystic  cave,  and  indeed  it  was  such,  —  that  cave 
in  which  the  northern  bear  nestles  her  young  by  day,  and  leads 
them  forth  on  the  heights  of  the  sacred  mount  by  night. 

But  it  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  origin  of  those  primitive  doo 


280  HAR-MOAD. 

. 

trines  which  all  the  religions,  philosophies,  and  mysteries  even  had 
taken  for  their  base ;  to  account  also  for  their  propagation  in  every 
quarter  of  the  ancient  world,  as  well  as  their  preservation  in  such 
purity  and  detail,  except  on  the  hypothesis  of  our  third  chapter. 
They  who  had  constructed  the  first  temples  were  the  founders  of 
the  ancient  civilizations.  It  was  they  who  laid  the  corner-stones  of 
the  pyramids  of  Borsippa  and  of  Sakkara ;  who  divided  the  sphere, 
who  invented  writing,  who  wrote  the  sacred  books,  who  taught 
the  ancient  nations  how  to  live  and  how  to  work.  It  was  these 
mystic  corporations  of  the  early  ages  to  which  all  antiquity  attrib- 
uted the  first  revelations  of  truth,  the  invention  of  the  arts  of  civ- 
ilized life,  the  foundation  of  beneficent  institutions,  the  redemption 
of  humanity  from  savagism.  Everything  tends  to  confirm  this  sup- 
position, and  I  am  constrained  to  believe  it,  even  in  spite  of  myself. 
SEC.  107.  In  discussing  the  question  of  the  actual  geographical 
locality  of  the  Gan-Eden  of  Genesis,  in  our  sixth  chapter,  much 
stress  was  laid  upon  the  necessity  of  adhering  strictly  to  the  essen- 
tial conditions  of  the  problem.  These  conditions  are  substantially 
as  already  defined :  1st.  To  discover  a  region  on  the  earth's  surface 
whose  peculiar  geographical  features  correspond,  or  nearly  so,  to 
those  described  in  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  Garden  of  Eden.  2d. 
A  region  to  which  the  traditions  of  various  peoples  point  as  having 
been  the  first  abode  of  humanity,  and  as  that  also  from  which  their 
ancestors  had  departed  when  they  migrated  to  the  countries  occu- 
pied by  these  peoples  in  historical  times.  3d.  A  region  from  which 
it  was  physically  and  morally  possible  that  the  different  races  had 
departed,  according  to  all  known  facts  concerning  their  origin,  and 
to  which,  by  the  aid  of  their  traditions,  sacred  books,  and  the  re- 
sults of  linguistic  science,  it  was  possible  to  retrace  their  steps  along 
the  routes  originally  taken  by  them.  To  these  conditions  I  have 
pointed  out  an  additional  one:  4th.  The  existence  of  a  well-defined 
stellar  region,  uniformly  associated  in  tradition  with  the  particular 
terrestrial  locality,  assumed  as  the  first  abode  of  humanity.  Now 
it  may  be  properly  and  safely  assumed  that  no  two  regions  on  the 
earth's  surface  fulfilling  all  these  requirements  could  by  any  reason- 
able possibility  exist.  Consequently  if  one  locality  can  be  found 
that  does  fulfill  them,  such  must  have  been  the  primitive  centre 
from  which  the  various  races  of  men  departed  to  people  the  earth. 
As  thus  presented,  the  problem  assumes  a  strictly  scientific  form, 


THE  CELESTIAL  EARTH.  281 

and  its  solution,  therefore,  if  properly  worked  out,  must  be  regarded 
in  the  same  light.  The  peculiar  geographical  features  of  Gran- 
Eden  are  themselves  of  a  character  quite  extraordinary,  and  no 
other  region  on  the  globe  known  to  geography  in  any  way  answers 
to  them  except  the  plateau  of  Pamir,  which  has  been  identified  by 
scholars,  as  we  have  seen,  with  the  Mosaic  description  of  Eden. 
This  region  seems  to  form  the  great  water-shed  of  all  Asia,  from 
which  four  large  and  navigable  rivers  take  their  rise,  flowing  from 
thence  toward  different  quarters  of  the  Asiatic  continent.  As  for 
the  other  conditions  named  the  reader  has  seen,  from  the  facts 
detailed  in  the  sixth  chapter,  a  most  remarkable  concurrence  of  all 
the  circumstances  to  satisfy  them  all. 

We  attain,  then,  a  reliable  standpoint  historically,  or  at  least  tra- 
ditionally and  geographically,  at  the  very  dawn  of  human  existence 
on  earth  so  far  as  the  earliest  traditions  known  to  antiquity  afford 
any  indications.  If  there  actually  was  a  period  still  earlier,  no  tra- 
dition relates  to  it.  The  evidences  of  its  reality  must  be  drawn 
from  other  sources.  The  question  of  the  geological  evidences  of 
the  antiquity  of  man,  we  are  not  as  yet  prepared  to  discuss,  nor  do 
we  intend  to  do  so,  exhaustively  at  any  rate,  in  the  present  treatise. 
We  hope  in  future  chapters  to  prepare  the  way  for  it,  and  to 
indicate  generally  our  views.  We  assume,  for  the  present,  that 
Gan-Eden  was  the  beginning  of  history ;  the  proofs  of  this,  drawn 
from  ancient  and  universal  tradition,  as  already  before  us,  are  en- 
titled to  great  weight,  but  many  additional  facts  are  yet  to  be  pre- 
sented. But  the  locality  in  question  was  not  merely  the  traditional 
and  geographical  starting-point  of  humanity.  We  have  shown  that 
it  was  the  birthplace  of  the  ancient  religions,  the  sacred  mysteries, 
and  that  the  fundamental  ideas  forming  the  basis  of  the  theory  of 
ancient  civilization  had  been  inherited  originally  from  the  same 
locality.  It  was  there  on  that  mountain  plain  which  overlooks  all 
Asia  that  the  physical,  intellectual,  and  religious  history  of  our 
race  had  its  beginning.  The  first  to  rise  above  the  dark  waters  of 
chaos  and  the  deluge,  it  was  there  that  the  first  civilization  on  the 
globe  was  planted.  We  know  that  its  foundations  were  laid  in 
wisdom,  since  it  gave  birth  to  those  grand  ideas  whose  influence 
extended  throughout  antiquity  to  the  very  latest  epochs.  How 
long  it  endured  it  is  impossible  to  decide.  It  must  have  preceded 
the  oldest  civilizations  known  to  us,  and  it  is  probable  that  it  did 


282 


HAR-MOAD. 


not  endure  much  later  than  the  period  of  their  origin.  It  was  at 
all  events  the  great  foster-mother  of  all  the  brilliant  epochs  that 
succeeded  it.  It  was  there  that  the  first  foundations  were  laid,  the 
first  heaven  and  earth  separated  ;  and  it  was  there  that  those  mod- 
els were  perfected  according  to  which  the  constructions  of  subse- 
quent ages  were  scrupulously  designed. 

To  be  able  to  assign  some  definite  and  completely  reliable  chro- 
nology for  this  most  mysterious  epoch  in  human  history  would  be  a 
result  so  exceedingly  desirable  and  important  as  to  justify  even  a 
hazardous  attempt  to  do  so ;  and  we  confess  in  advance  that  such 
will  be  one  of  the  leading  aims  in  the  chapters  to  follow. 


BOOK  IV. 

THE   TWELVE   STARS   OF  PHOENICIA. 
CHAPTER  X. 

ZODIACAL  ARRANGEMENT   OF  THESE  ASTERLSMS. 

SEC.  108.  In  the  present  chapter  we  enter  upon  a  series  of  inves- 
tigations of  which  a  remarkable  astronomical  tablet  constitutes  the 
chief  object  of  interest.  Under  the  form  in  which  it  appears  in  the 
"  British  Museum  Series,"  so  called,  this  inscription  has  been  for 
many  years  familiar  to  cuneiform  scholars.  I  am  not  aware,  how- 
ever, that  it  has  ever  been  regarded  as  of  particular  importance  by 
Assyriologues,  or  that  any  one  has  devoted  to  it  a  special  study. 
The  greatest  significance  ever  attached  to  it,  so  far  as  my  informa- 
tion extends,  is  that  by  M.  F.  Lenormant,  who  cites  it  in  illustration 
of  the  symbolical  system  of  geography  which  prevailed  in  the  times 
of  Sargon  the  ancient,  to  which  we  have  alluded  in  a  previous 
chapter.  In  reference  to  this  monarch,  and  as  heretofore  quoted, 
M.  Lenormant  observes  :  — 

"  He  considers  the  country  of  Akkad,  or  Chaldaea,  as  situated  in 
the  centre  of  the  universe,  and  as  surrounded  by  four  other  coun- 
tries, which  correspond  exactly  to  the  four  cardinal  points :  llama 
is  east,  Martu  is  west,  G-utium  is  north,  and  Subarti  is  south.  See 
particularly  upon  this  system  the  fragment  of  a  tablet,  where  twelve 
stars  preside  over  the  destinies  of  each  of  these  countries,  and 
where  are  described  the  influences  exerted  upon  them  during  each 
month."  ! 

The  tablet  here  referred  to  is  the  one  selected  by  us  for  special 
study.  It  is,  as  M.  Lenormant  intimates,  quite  fragmentary,  cer- 

1  Frag,  de  Be'rose,  p.  321. 


284 


HAR-MOAD. 


tain  portions  only  being  entire,  particularly  the  one  shown  in  our 
third  plate,  to  which  our  chief  interest  attaches,  and  which  we  enti- 
tle "  the  twelve  stars  of  Phoenicia,"  following  the  colophon  at  the 
foot  of  the  list.  For  convenience  I  repeat  the  list  below  according 
to  the  Accadian  values  of  the  cuneiform  characters  interlined  in  the 
plate,  adding  some  translations:  — 


1.  The  star  As-kar. 

2.  The  star  Sir.     The  Serpent. 

3.  The  star  Bar-tabba-galgal 

4.  The  star  Nin-Makh.    Great  Mistress. 

5.  The  star  Nibe-anu.     Planet  Mars. 

6.  The  star  Nam-makh.     Great  Destiny. 

The  twelve  stars  of 


7.  The  star  Su-gi.     The  Rival. 

8.  The  star  Qaf-sidi.     Dog-star. 

9.  The  star  Bir. 

10.  The  star  Ungal.  The  king.  Jupiter. 

11.  The  star  Al-lap.     The  Taurus. 

12.  The  star  Lab-a. 

the  country  of  Phoenicia. 


The  asterisms  are  numbered  according  to  the  order  in  which  I 
suppose  they  were  intended  to  be  read,  though  Nos.  11  and  12  I 
conceive  to  have  been  purposely  inverted,  as  this  is  not  their  proper 
zodiacal  order.  I  had  formerly  regarded  the  true  title  of  this  list 
of  asterisms  to  be  "  the  twelve  stars  of  Accad,"  being  misled  by 
Mr.  Norris  in  his  "  Assyrian  Dictionary."  l  He  was  doubtless  mis- 
led by  the  colophon,  which  appears  next  above  our  list  in  the  pub- 
lished text,  and  reads,  12  mul-mes  mat  Akkad-ki,  or  "  the  twelve 
stars  of  Accad."  He  probably  inferred  likewise  that  the  colophon, 
12  mul-mes  mat  martu-ki,  or  "  the  twelve  stars  of  the  west,"  of 
"  Phoenicia,"  related  to  a  series  of  asterisms  named  immediately  be- 
low it  in  the  text.  This  is  an  error,  as  is  evident  from  Rev.  A.  H. 
Sayce's  rendering  of  the  list.2  This  author  very  properly  applies 
to  the  series  given  in  our  plate  the  title,  "  the  twelve  stars  of  the 
west."  3  But  the  reference  cannot  be  to  the  western  quarter  of  the 
heavens,  as  he  seems  to  suppose.4  The  phrase  mat  martu-ki,  like 
mat  Akkad-ki,  can  be  interpreted  only  of  a  country.  It  is  often  put 
for  the  west  country  indefinitely;  sometimes,  as  Dr.  Schrader  thinks, 
for  Canaan.5  Definitely,  however,  mat  martu-ki  is  equated  in  the 
texts  to  mat  a-har-ri-i,  or  "  Phoenicia,"  as  understood  by  Dr.  De- 
litzsch  and  cuneiform  scholars  generally.6  A  very  good  reason  for 
the  supposition  that  in  this  case  the  phrase  mat  martu-ki  does  not 

1  Assyr.  Die.,  i.  p.  109.  2  Vid.  Jour.  Bib.  Arch.  So.,  London,  iii.  p.  173. 

»  Ibid.,  p.  176.  4  Ibid.,  p.  167. 

6  KeilinscJirift.u.d.  Alt.  Test.,  pp.  14,  15. 

6  Vid.  2d  Rawl.  PI.  50,  Revs.  1.  57.  c.  d.  Cf.  Delitzsch,  Assyr.  Studien,  pp.  38, 
139;  Norris,  Assyr.  Die.,  i.  28. 


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THE  TWELVE  STARS   OF  PHCENICIA. 


285 


apply  to  the  Canaanitish  country  generally  is  the  fact  that  these 
asterisms  have  in  some  sense  an  adjustment  to  the  zodiac,  leading  to 
the  inference  that  a  particular  nationality,  like  the  Phoenicians,  had 
appropriated  them  specially  as  such.  The  selection  of  twelve  stars, 
corresponding  to  the  number  of  the  zodiacal  divisions,  as  presiding 
over  the  destinies  of  the  nation,  seems  to  have  been  a  common  prac- 
tice in  those  ancient  times,  and  the  various  lists  of  asterisms  origi- 
nally contained  in  our  tablet  appear  to  have  served  a  purpose  of  this 
kind.  As  the  population  of  Canaan  was  divided  into  many  nation- 
alities, some  particular  one  in  the  present  instance  must  be  intended, 
and  thus  mat  martu  should  be  understood  here  of  Phoenicia.  The 
entire  list  of  the  twelve  stars  of  Accad  is  wanting  in  this  inscrip- 
tion, except  the  two  names  partially  defaced  in  the  first  line  of 
the  published  text,  one  of  which  is  obviously  Ni-bi-ru,  the  seventh 
name  of  Mercury  in  the  series  of  twelve  names  applied  to  this 
planet,  answering  to  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac. 

To  facilitate  the  study  of  our  tablet,  I  submit  a  comparative  table 
relating  to  the  zodiac,  including  the  list  of  twelve  stars  of  Phoenicia, 
showing  their  proposed  adjustment  to  the  zodiacal  signs:  — 


MONOGRAMS. 

ASSYR.  NAMES. 

NAMES  OF  MERCURY. 

ZOD.  SIGNS. 

STARS  OP  PHCENICIA. 

1.  Bara. 

Ni-sa-nu. 

Dun-pa-uddu. 

Aries. 

(11)  Lab-a. 

2.  Gut. 

Ai-ru. 

Ud-al-tar. 

Taurus. 

(12)  Al-lap. 

3.  Uku. 

Si-va-nu. 

As-kar,  Bab-ilini. 

Gemini. 

(1)  As-kar. 

4.  Su. 

Du-u-zu. 

Da-pi-nu. 

Cancer. 

(2)  Sir. 

5.Ne. 

A-bu. 

Mak-ru-u. 

Leo. 

(3)  Bar-talba-galgal. 

6.  Kin. 

U-lu-lu. 

Sak-ve-sa. 

Virgo. 

(4)  Nin-makJi. 

7.  Tul. 

Tas-rl-lu. 

Ni-bi  ru. 

Libra. 

(5)  Ni-be-Anu. 

8.  A  pin. 

Arakh-  Samna. 

Rab-bu. 

Scorpio. 

(6)  Nam-makh. 

9.  Gan. 

Ki-si-li-vu. 

Rabaz. 

Sagittarius. 

(7)  Su-gi. 

10.  Ab. 

Ta-bi-ta. 

Sar. 

Capricorn. 

(8)  Qaq-Sidi. 

11.  As. 

Sa-ba-tu. 

Gal. 

A  quarius. 

(9)  Sir. 

12.  Se. 

Ad-da-ru. 

Kha  Hea. 

Pisces. 

(10)  Ungal. 

SEC.  109.  The  first  column  gives  the  names  of  the  Accadian  mon- 
ograms for  the  months  of  the  Babylonian  year,  the  month  Bara 
being  the  first,  corresponding  to  the  zodiacal  sign  Aries.  The 
second  column  contains  the  Assyrian  names  of  the  months  in  their 
regular  order  answering  to  the  monograms  and  signs.  The  Hebrew 
names  were  derived  from  these.  Thus,  the  Assyrian  Ni-sa-nu  be- 


286 


HAR-MOAD. 


comes  the  Hebrew  Nisan,  etc.1  The  third  column  gives  the  names 
of  Mercury  corresponding  to  each  month  and  sign.  We  have  a 
tablet  showing  the  adjustment  of  these  names  to  the  zodiac,  so  that 
no  doubt  exists  in  relation  to  this  matter.2  In  the  fourth  column 
the  order  of  the  zodiacal  signs  and  their  names  are  presented. 
Finally,  in  the  fifth  column  I  have  arranged  the  names  of  the  stars 
of  Phoenicia  according  to  my  theory  of  their  intended  adjustment 
to  the  zodiac.  It  is  to  be  understood  that  there  is  no  question  here 
as  to  the  proper  order  of  any  list  contained  in  the  foregoing  table 
except  in  regard  to  the  last.  Our  investigation  has  reference  to  this 
alone,  employing  the  other  lists  simply  as  aids  in  determining  the 
true  arrangements  of  the  Phosnician  asterisms.  We  are  prepared 
now  to  enter  directly  upon  this  question. 

1st.  The  star  As-kar.  The  characters  composing  the  name  of  this 
asterism  are  read  Dil-gan  by  Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce,  and  they  often  take 
these  phonetic  values.  But  the  reading  As-kar  is  equally  legiti- 
mate, is  that  adopted  by  M.  Lenormant,  and,  for  reasons  that  will 
appear  in  full  in  the  next  chapter,  has  been  preferred  here.  It  will 
be  seen  that  the  name  As-kar  heads  the  list  of  Phoenician  stars, 
which  circumstance,  if  any  zodiacal  arrangement  is  to  be  presumed 
here,  would  lead  naturally  to  the  assimilation  of  As-Jcar  to  the 
opening  month  of  the  Babylonian  calendar,  that  is  to  say,  to  the 
month  Sara,  Assyrian  Nisanu,  the  sign  Aries.  Instead  of  this,  as 
shown  in  the  table  of  proposed  adjustments,  I  have  assimilated 
As-kar  to  the  sign  Gemini,  Accadian  month  Uku,  or  "  month  of  the 
brick,"  the  Assyrian  tiivanu,  being  the  third  instead  of  the  first 
month  of  the  Babylonian  year.  That  which  first  determined  me  to 
this  arrangement  was  a  comparison  between  the  name  As-kar  and 
that  of  Mercury  as  it  attends  the  sun  in  the  sign  Gemini,  or  during 
the  third  month.  The  title  of  Mercury  in  this  zodiacal  division  is 
the  Accadian  An  as-kar  kd  an-mes,  or  the  Assyrian  il  as-kar  bab- 
ilini,  the  sense  being  the  same  in  both  cases,  namely,  "  the  god  As- 
kar,  gate  of  the  gods."  Thus,  the  name  As-kar  is  simply  the  title 
of  Mercury  in  the  sign  Gemini,  or  during  the  third  month  of  the 
Babylonian  calendar,  from  which  it  follows  that  the  zodiacal  ar- 
rangement of  the  twelve  stars  of  Phoenicia  does  not  correspond  to 

1  Vid.  Norris,  Assyr.  Die.,  i.  p.  50,  for  a  table  of  monograms,  names  of  the 
months,  etc. 

2  Vid.  3d  Rawl.  PI.  53,  No.  2,  Obs. 


THE  TWELVE   STARS  OF  PHOENICIA.  287 

the  Babylonian  year  opening  with  the  sign  Aries,  but  that  the 
whole  series  is  to  be  moved  forward  on  the  zodiac  two  entire  signs, 
so  that  the  star  As-kar  shall  fall  in  the  sign  Gemini.  Accordingly, 
it  will  be  seen  from  the  table  of  adjustments  given  in  the  last  sec- 
tion that  I  have  arranged  the  whole  series  of  Phoanician  names 
with  reference  to  this  one  fact. 

The  phrase  bab-ilini,  "gate  of  the  gods,"  is  evidently  a  mere 
qualification  of  As-kar;  and  his  being  considered  a  god  in  one  case, 
and  a  star  or  constellation  in  the  other,  is  in  no  sense  material,  as 
all  the  stars  were  considered  divinities.  The  evidence  then  ap- 
pears to  be  conclusive  to  the  effect  that  the  twelve  stars  of  Phoenicia 
present  a  zodiacal  scheme,  which  opens  with  the  sign  Gemini,  and 
concludes  with  that  of  Taurus.  Nevertheless,  there  is  an  objection 
to  this  hypothesis  which  it  is  necessary  to  set  aside  before  we  can 
safely  rest  in  the  conclusion  seemingly  so  obvious  at  first  view ; 
and  it  arises  from  the  statement  of  M.  Lenormant,  in  which  he  is 
supported  by  Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce,  that  the  title  As-kar  is  a  generic 
one,  applied  equally  in  the  texts  to  the  planets  Mars,  Jupiter,  and 
Mercury.1  If  such  is  really  the  fact,  we  cannot  assume  here  that 
the  name  in  question  is  necessarily  to  be  assimilated  to  the  title  of 
Mercury  in  the  sign  Gemini.  The  two  texts  cited  by  M.  Lenor- 
•mant  in  proof  of  his  statement  are  the  same  as  those  relied  upon 
by  Rev.  Mr.  Sayce.  The  application  of  the  name  As-kar  to  the 
planet  Mars  is  predicated  upon  a  bilingual  passage,  which  reads 
as  follows:  .  .  .  As-kar  =  il  Ni-be-anu ;  "  .  .  .  As-kar  is  the  god 
Nibeanu,  or  Mars."  2  The  character  which  precedes  As-kar  in  this 
phrase  is  almost  wholly  defaced ;  but  enough  remains  to  show  that 
it  terminated  with  two  parallel  lines,  in  which  case  it  was  neither 
Mul,  "star,"  nor  An,  "god."  It  is  evident,  then,  in  this  instance, 
that  As-kar  is  not  considered  a  star  nor  a  divinity ;  and  the  text 
affords  no  proof  of  M.  Lenormant's  statement. 

The  text  supposed  to  demonstrate  the  assimilation  of  As-kar  to 
Jupiter  is  a  list  of  twelve  asterisms,  or  divinities,  six  of  them 
equated  in  some  sense  to  Jupiter,  and  six  to  Saturn,  and  may  be 
presented  in  the  following  form  so  far  as  relates  to  the  point  before 


1  Vid.  Lenormant,  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  375,  note  ;  Sayce,  Trans.  Bib.  Arch.  So. 
iii.  pp.  167,  176. 

2  2d  Rawl.  PI.  39,  No.  5,  1.  64. 

8  2d  Rawl.  PI.  57,  Revs.  Col.  1,  11.  44-47. 


288  HAR-MOAD. 

The  star  Gran-gusur=t}\Q  star  Lubat-guttav  —  Jupiter. 

The  star  Mar-duk  =  t\iQ  star  Lubat-guttav  =  Jupiter. 

The  star  As-kar  =  the  star  Lubat-guttav  =  Jupiter. 

The  star  Qaq-sidi=t\\G  star  Lubat-guttav  =  Jupiter. 

M.  Lenormant  has  seen  here  an  ordinary  bilingual  equation  of 
certain  names  to  others;  in  this  instance,  of  Gran-gusur,  etc.,  to 
Lubat-guttav,  or  the  planet  Jupiter.  Such  a  view  was,  to  say  the 
least,  very  natural ;  but  it  has  seemed  to  me  erroneous,  and  I  find 
that  Rev.  Mr.  Sayce  perceives  here  a  serious  difficulty,  and  thus  he 
observes : — 

"  The  scribe,  therefore,  who  wrote  the  passage  in  question  must 
have  misunderstood  his  copy,  and  have  identified  with  Jupiter  a 
group  of  stars  which  were  coupled  with  it  in  consequence  of  their 
proximity  to  the  ecliptic."  1 

The  author  shows  that  this  list  contains  the  names  of  asterisms 
that  cannot  by  any  possibility  be  identified  with  either  Jupiter  or 
Saturn.  The  same  may  be  said  with  reference  to  Qaq-sidi,  which 
occupies  the  fourth  position  in  this  series.  The  text,  therefore, 
affords  no  evidence  of  the  assimilation  of  As-kar  to  Jupiter;  and 
we  return  to  our  original  supposition  that  the  name  is  exclusively  a 
title  of  Mercury ;  of  Mercury,  however,  only  as  it  attends  the  sun 
in  the  sign  Gemini,  or  during  the  third  month  of  the  Babylonian 
year.  The  twelve  stars  of  Phoenicia,  then,  or  of  the  west,  present  a 
zodiacal  scheme  that  opens  with  this  sign. 

SEC.  110.  But  we  cannot  agree  with  Rev.  Mr.  Sayce  respecting 
the  text  last  cited,  that  the  scribe  has  "misunderstood  his  copy." 
Is  it  not  more  probable  that  our  author  has  misinterpreted  the 
scribe?  The  twelve  names  of  Mercury,  as  we  have  seen,  afford  a 
regular  zodiacal  scheme.  In  a  certain  sense,  as  shown  by  the  text, 
every  one  of  these  names  is  equated  to  the  "  god  Marduk."  Yet 
these  are  not  properly  titles  of  Marduk,  as  Rev.  Mr.  Sayce  appears 
at  times  to  suppose.  Dun-pa-uddu,  Da-pi-nu,  Sak-ve-sa,  etc.,  are 
titles  of  Mercury  beyond  question,  and  never  of  Marduk.  What, 
then,  is  the  meaning  of  Marduk's  association  with  all  these  names  ? 
It  is  simply,  as  Assyriologues  have  often  suggested,  that  "  Marduk 
rules  the  entire  year  "  according  to  the  parlance  of.  astrology.  Now 
in  the  series  of  twelve  asterisms  before  referred  to,  in  which  our 
English  Assyriologue  believes  the  scribe  to  have  made  a  mistake,  is 

1  Trans.  Bib.  Arch.  So.,  iii.  pp.  170,  171. 


THE  TWELVE  STARS  OF  PHCENICIA.  289 

it  not  probable  that  we  have  another  zodiacal  arrangement,  not  in 
ordinary  practical  use,  perhaps,  but  one  in  which  Jupiter  is  sup- 
posed to  rule  the  first  half  of  the  year,  while  Saturn  rules  the  last 
half  ?  Such,  at  any  rate,  is  ray  view  of  the  import  of  this  text ; 
and  it  offers  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  apparently  anomalous 
facts  which  had  given  rise  in  Rev.  Mr.  Sayce's  mind  to  the  sugges- 
tion made  by  him.  But  there  seems  to  be  some  positive  evidence 
that  the  text  in  question  was  intended  for  a  zodiacal  arrangement. 

The  star  Qaq-sidi,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  extract  given,  occupies 
here  the  fourth  position,  which  zodiacally  answers  to  the  sign  Can- 
cer, where  the  sun  attains  its  highest  exaltation  at  the  summer 
solstice,  a  period  universally  connected  in  antiquity  with  the  helia- 
cal rising  of  the  dog-star.  Now  Mr.  Norris  identifies  Qaq-sidi  with 
the  dog-star,  and  cites  in  proof  a  cuneiform  passage  which  is  thus 
rendered  by  Rev.  Mr.  Sayce  :  "  In  the  days  of  variable  storms  (and) 
heat,  in  the  days  of  the  rising  of  Qaq-sidi,  which  (is)  like  bronze," 
etc.1  This  language  can  have  reference  only,  it  would  seem,  to  the 
burning  season  of  the  summer  solstice,  when  the  sky  is  like  bronze ; 
thence  also  to  the  heliacal  rising  of  Sirius  which  was  supposed  to 
mark  that  period.  The  fact,  then,  that  this  star  assumes  the  fourth 
position  in  the  list  referred  to,  being  thus  perfectly  normal  in  any 
zodiacal  scheme,  constructed  with  reference  to  its  heliacal  rising,  is 
another  very  significant  circumstance  tending  to  the  conclusion  that 
we  actually  have  here  a  zodiacal  arrangement.  In  addition  to  this 
it  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  star  As-kar  holds  the  third  position,  an- 
swering to  the  sign  Gemini,  thus  corresponding  to  the  order  of  the 
twelve  names  of  Mercury  where  As-kar  lab-ilini  is  put  for  the 
third  sign.  On  the  other  hand,  we  have  here  a  confirmation  of  our 
theory:  1st.  That  the  "star  As-kar"  and  the  "god  As-kar,  gate  of 
the  gods,"  refer  to  one  and  the  same  asterism.  2d.  That  the  aster- 
ism  thus  denoted  is  to  be  assimilated  zodiacally  to  Gemini. 

We  find  ourselves  under  the  necessity  of  removing  another  doubt 
which  arises  from  the  following  statement  by  Rev.  Mr.  Sayce : 
"  Dil-gan  (As-kar~)  was  the  patron  star  of  Babylon  .  .  .  just  as 
Mar-luda  was  of  Nipur,  and  this  fixes  its  identity  with  the  star  of 
Merodach."  2  In  the  two  texts  cited  by  the  author,  I  fail  to  see 
any  evidence  supporting  the  opinions  here  expressed.  The  third 

1  Norris,  Assyr.  Die.,  i.  p.  109;  Sayce,  Trans.,  etc.,  iii.  p.  174. 

2  Trans.,  etc.,  iii.  p.  171. 


290  HAR-MOAD. 


• 


name  of  Mercury,  or  As-kar  bab-ilini,  is  taken  as  one  of  bis  proofs  ; 
but  he  falls  into  u  double  error  with  regard  to  it,  unless  I  am  myself 
very  much  deceived.  In  the  first  place,  he  interprets  this  entire 
series  of  names,  usually  regarded  as  titles  of  Mercury,  and  by  him- 
self so  understood  in  other  places,  as  being  really  names  of  Marduk, 
or  Merodach,  the  patron  divinity  of  Babylon.  But  the  fact  is  that 
these  are  not  titles  of  Marduk,  who  merely  rules  the  year  in  this 
case,  as  already  explained  in  this  cha-pter.  Hence,  As-kar  or  Dil- 
gan  is  not  here  identified  with  Marduk.  It  would  be  impossible  to 
show,  from  any  other  text  in  existence,  that  Dun-pa-uddu,  Da-pi-nu, 
to  which  we  may  add  As-kar,  were  ever  applied  to  Marduk.  They 
are  the  most  ordinary  epithets  of  Mercury.  Again,  the  author  in- 
terprets the  phrase  bab-ilini,  "gate  of  the  gods,"  as  being  identical 
with  bab-ilu,  "gate  of  Ilu,"  name  of  Babylon.  It  is  perfectly  cor- 
rect that  Babylon  was  styled  the  "gate  of  Ilu,  or  El,"  but  this  is 
quite  different  from  the  "  gate  of  the  gods  "  of  the  entire  pantheon, 
obviously  relating  to  the  traditionary  mount  of  the  east,  conceived 
as  the  seat  of  the  great  divinities,  and  regarded  in  all  Asia,  as  M. 
Renan  has  stated,  as  "  the  gate  of  the  universe."  The  other  text 
cited  is  equally  defective,  in  my  view,  as  affording  any  evidence 
that  As-kar  or  Dil-gan  was  the  patron  divinity  of  Babylon,  and  thus 
one  with  the  god  Marduk.  The  text  is  much  broken  up,  but  the 
following  exhibits  its  main  features  :  a  — 

1.  The  star  Al-lap—  Sip-par-ki  =  city  of  Sippara. 

2.  The  star  Mar-buda  =  JBil-kit-ki=C2i[ne\\,  or  Nipur. 

3  ..........  kar  =  Bab-ilini  ="  gate  of  the  gods." 


5  ...........     =Su-si-ki=(?'). 

Doubtless,  the  middle  or  third  line  of  this  text  had  the  name  As- 
kar,  bab-ilini,  in  its  perfect  state.  But  there  is  no  proof,  so  far  as  I 
am  able  to  perceive,  that  it  was  assimilated  to  Marduk,  nor  that  it 
represented  the  city  of  Babylon.  The  point  which  this  writer 
assumes,  as  before  intimated,  is  the  equivalence  of  the  phrase  Bab- 
ilini  to  Bab-il,  name  of  Babylon  ;  but  there  is  no  proof  of  it  in  the 
two  texts  cited,  nor  am  I  aware  of  any  others  tending  to  support 
this  view.  Thus,  we  return  again  to  our  first  position,  namely,  that 
the  star  As-kar  is  Mercury  in  the  sign  Gemini,  which  accordingly 
opens  this  old  PhoBnician  calendar,  if  indeed  this  arrangement  of 
asterisms  was  ever  employed  for  such  a  purpose. 

i  Vid.  2(1  Rawl.  PI.  48,  Col.  1,  11.  55-59. 


THE   TWELVE   STARS  OF  PHOENICIA.  291 

SEC.  111.  2d.  The  Star  Qaq-sidi.  It  has  been  shown  that  this 
name  denotes  the  dog-star,  whose  heliacal  rising  with  the  sun  in 
Cancer  marked  the  period  of  the  summer  solstice.  In  any  zodiacal 
scheme  constructed  with  reference  to  its  heliacal  rising,  this  star 
would  hold  the  fourth  position,  agreeing  with  that  of  Cancer,  and 
as  seen  in  the  text  already  noticed  (Sec.  109).  In  the  series  of 
twelve  stars  of  the  west,  or  of  Phoenicia,  Qaq-sidi  occurs  in  the 
eighth  position.  Now  the  eighth  zodiacal  sign  is  Scorpio.  It  would 
be  difficult  to  assign  any  valid  reason,  either  astronomical  or  astro- 
mythological,  for  assimilating  the  dog-star  to  the  sign  Scorpio. 
The  dog-star  had  always  in  antiquity  a  solstitial  character,  con- 
nected thus  with  either  the  sign  Cancer  or  Capricorn.  A  word  of 
explanation  here  respecting  the  different  risings  of  the  stars.  A 
star  is  said  to  effect  its  cosmical  rising  when  it  comes  to  the  eastern 
horizon  exactly  at  sunrise ;  but  owing  to  the  superior  light  of  this 
luminary,  it  is  not  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  A  star  is  said  to  rise 
heliacally  with  the  sun  when  it  mounts  the  eastern  horizon  a  little 
time  before  the  sun,  or  so  as  to  render  it  visible  to  the  unassisted 
eye.  The  sun  gains  two  hours  during  each  month  on  the  risings  of 
the  fixed  stars,  hence  at  the  end  of  six  months  it  has  gained  twelve 
hours.  If,  then,  the  dog-star  rises  heliacally  with  the  sun  in  Cancer 
at  the  summer  solstice,  six  months  after  with  the  sun  in  Capricorn,  it 
will  have  gained  twelve  hours,  and  will  set  in  the  west  about  the  time 
the  dog-star  rises  in  the  east.  The  acronycal  rising  of  a  star  is  that 
when  it  comes  to  the  eastern  horizon  a  few  moments  after  sunset, 
or  a  sufficient  time  after  to  be  visible  to  the  eye  without  the  aid  of 
instruments.  The  sun  attains  the  winter  solstice  in  Capricorn  six 
months  after  the  summer  solstice,  which  occurs  with  the  sun  in 
Cancer.  The  dog-star,  therefore,  by  its  heliacal  rising  marked  the 
period  of  the  summer  solstice,  and  by  its  acronycal  rising  that  of 
the  winter  solstice.  Although  the  two  risings  might  not  correspond 
exactly  to  the  two  solstices,  they  appear  to  have  been  so  considered 
for  a  long  period  in  antiquity. 

We  return  now  to  the  consideration  of  Qaq-sidi,  holding  the 
eighth  position  in  our  list  of  asterisms.  With  Qaq-sidi,  or  the  dog- 
star,  in  the  eighth  sign,  or  Scorpio,  we  are  at  once  in  the  midst  of 
difficulties.  It  must  fall  in  Cancer,  the  fourth  sign,  answering  to 
its  heliacal  rising,  or  in  Capricorn,  the  tenth  sign,  agreeably  to  its 
acronycal  rising,  or  it  is  impossible  to  attribute  any  really  zodiacal 


292 


HAR-MOAD. 


character  to  its  position.  According  to  our  theoiy  of  adjustment 
of  these  twelve  stars  to  the  zodiac,  it  is  necessary  to  move  them  all 
forward  two  entire  signs  as  compared  with  the  Babylonian  system ; 
in  other  words,  we  must  move  Qaq-sidi  from  Scorpio,  the  eighth 
sign,  into  Capricorn,  or  the  tenth  sign.  By  reference  to  our  table 
of  adjustments  (Sec.  108),  it  will  be  seen  that  Qaq-sidi  falls  in  the 
sign  Capricorn,  as  if  to  mark,  by  its  acronycal  rising,  the  period  of 
the  winter  solstice.  The  question  arises,  then,  whether  the  ancients 
ever  associated  a  dog-star  with  Capricorn  and  with  the  solstice 
of  winter.  Professor  A.  Romieu,  in  his  critical  treatise  on  the 
"  Egyptian  Decans,"  already  referred  to  in  these  pages,  cites  a  re- 
markable statement  from  Firmicus  :  "  On  the  right  of  Sagittarius 
rises  the  ship  Argo,  and  on  the  left  the  dog."  "  We  recognize  in 
divers  authors,"  adds  the  professor,  "  the  notion  of  two  dogs,  guard- 
ians of  the  limits  of  the  sun's  course ;  and  in  this  case,  the  south- 
ern dog  would  be  found  in  the  region  of  Capricorn  precisely  to  the 
left  of  Sagittarius.*' :  Now,  whether  these  two  dogs  were  really 
separate  asterisms,  or  merely  the  two  phases  of  the  heliacal  and 
acronycal  risings  of  one  and  the  same  star,  it  is  certain  that  the 
Hamites  of  Egypt  primitively  located  a  dog-star  exactly  in  the  posi- 
tion in  which,  according  to  our  method  of  adjustment,  the  table  of 
the  twelve  stars  of  Phoenicia  places  Qaq-sidi,  that  is  to  say,  in  the 
sign  Capricorn.  A  coincidence  so  remarkable  as  that  here  exhib- 
ited is  exceedingly  rare  in  antiquarian  researches ;  and  it  is  of  a 
character  to  add  much  strength  to  our  hypothesis  relative  to  these 
Phoenician  asterisms. 

SEC.  112.  3d.  The  star  Nin-makh.  The  meaning  of  this  name 
is  " great  mistress"  or  "divine  lady;"  and  the  reference  is  un- 
doubtedly to  the  mother  goddess,  probably  to  Ishtar,  the  Babylo- 
nian Venus.  This  star  is  the  fourth  in  the  series  of  Phoenician 
asterisms ;  but  it  is  plain  that  it  has  no  connection  with  the  fourth 
zodiacal  sign,  or  Cancer.  According  to  our  method  of  adjustment, 
it  should  fall  in  the  sixth  sign,  and  this  is  Virgo,  or  the  Virgin. 
The  Accadian  name  of  the  corresponding  month  is  interpreted  by 
M.  Lenormant  as  "  month  of  the  message  of  Ishtar."2  In  the  ab- 
sence of  all  other  proofs  tending  to  the  support  of  our  hypothesis, 
the  evidence  afforded  by  the  facts  here  presented  would  be  regarded 

1  Sur  un  Decan,  etc.,  p.  35. 

2  Premieres  Civilisation*,  t.  ii.  p.  71. 


THE  TWELVE   STARS  OF   PHCENICIA.  293 

justly  as  very  direct,  although  not  absolutely  conclusive*.  It  would 
still  be  a  question  whether  the  proof  was  not  merely  contingent  and 
accidental.  But  taken  in  connection  with  the  data  previously  intro- 
duced, it  becomes  difficult  to  resist  the  conviction  of  the  existence 
of  a  veritable  law  in  the  method  adopted  for  the  adjustment  of  these 
stars.  In  each  case,  we  have  only  to  move  the  Phoenician  stars 
forward  two  signs  on  the  zodiac,  as  compared  with  the  Babylonian 
system,  in  order  to  perceive  at  once  that  the  asterism  has  found 
its  normal  position.  Thus,  Nin-makh,  the  fourth  star,  is  seen  at 
a  glance  to  appertain  to  the  sixth  sign,  or  to  Virgo. 

4th.  The  star  Nam-makh.  The  Accadian  Nam  has  the  sense  of 
"destiny"  (Rep.  82);  and  Makh  signifies  "great,  very  great" 
(Rep.  68).  The  Star  Nam-makh,  therefore,  was  supposed  to  exer- 
cise a  preeminent  influence  over  destinies,  according  to  the  notions 
of  the  ancient  astrologists.  It  was  the  opinion  almost  universally 
held  that  the  sign  Scorpio  was  supreme  in  this  respect.  Mr.  Burritt 
remarks,  "  Scorpio  was  considered  by  the  ancient  astrologers  as  a 
sign  accursed.  The  Egyptians  fixed  the  entrance  of  the  sun  into 
Scorpio  as  the  commencement  of  the  reign  of  Typhon."  l  It  was 
held  also  to  exercise  a  great  influence  in  fixing  the  destinies  at 
birth.  The  correspondence,  then,  between  the  meaning  of  Nam- 
makli  and  the  traditional  character  of  Scorpio  is  very  exact ;  and 
the  fact  that,  according  to  our  theory  of  adjustment,  the  star  Nam- 
mahh  appertains  to  this  sign  constitutes  another  reason  for  the  sup- 
position that  this  theory  rests  upon  a  firm  basis. 

5th.  The  star  Ungal,  or  the  King.  We  shall  find  in  reference 
to  this  asterism  apparently  a  very  marked  discrepancy  as  regards 
our  hypothesis.  An  inspection  of  the  table  of  adjustments,  as  given 
in  the  108th  section,  will  show  that  Ungal,  the  Assyrian  Sar, 
"king,"  is  the  tenth  Pho3nician  asterism,  and  the  tenth  name  of 
Mercury.  This  appears  to  be  at  first  a  striking  coincidence  between 
both  name  and  number.  But  while  the  tenth  name  of  Mercury 
agreeably  to  the  Babylonian  system  falls  in  the  tenth  zodiacal  sign, 
or  Capricorn,  the  tenth  star  of  Phoenicia  having  the  same  name, 
according  to  our  method  of  adjustment,  falls  in  the  twelfth  zodiacal 
division,  or  in  Pisces.  Apparently,  therefore,  it  has  been  carried 
forward  from  its  normal  position  to  the  extent  of  two  signs  into  an 
abnormal  one.  If,  in  moving  the  Phoenician  asterisms  forward  two 
1  Geofj.  Heavens,  p.  102. 


294 


HAR-MOAD. 


signs  in  relation  to  the  Babylonian  system,  it  brought  the  Phce- 
nician  star  of  the  King  into  Capricorn,  where  we  have  the  same 
name  as  a  title  of  Mercury,  it  would  be  an  instance  like  that  of 
Nim-makh ;  the  asterism  would  be  brought  into  position  by  the 
operation.  But  instead  of  this,  it  seems  to  take  the  Phoenician 
Ungal  directly  out  of  position,  carrying  it  forward  into  the  twelfth 
sign.  This  appears  to  be  a  serious  objection  to  our  theory  of  ad- 
justments, although  it  admits  of  an  explanation  in  perfect  accord 
with  it. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  'King,  holding  always  the  tenth  position, 
must  be  assimilated  to  the  tenth  antediluvian  king,  the  jSuithros  or 
Ximthrus,  of  Berosus,  the  Babylonian  Noah.  These  ten  kings  of 
the  antediluvian  period,  answering  to  the  ten  patriarchs  of  the 
Mosaical  record  including  Noah  as  the  last,  had  been  assimilated 
by  the  Babylonians  to  the  ten  zodiacal  signs,  beginning  with  Aries 
and  ending  with  Capricorn.  The  fact  of  such  assimilation  was 
long  since  established  by  Dr.  Movers,  more  recently  confirmed  by 
M.  Lenormant,  and  of  this  the  principal  proofs  will  be  presented 
in  the  chapter  immediately  following.  The  tenth  king  of  Berosus, 
being  Sisithros,  was  associated  accordingly  with  the  tenth  zodiacal 
division,  with  Capricorn,  to  which  the  Assyrian  title  of  Mercury, 
Sar,  "  the  king,"  is  seen  to  correspond.  This  tenth  personage  of 
the  antediluvian  genealogy  appears  to  have  been  regarded  tradi- 
tionally by  the  Babylonians  as  the  king  par  excellence.  He  was 
Sydiki  "the  just,"  like  Noah,  who  is  styled  in  Genesis  "a  just 
man,"  etc. ;  and  the  same  title  Sydik  was  very  extensively  known 
as  the  name  of  the  planet  Jupiter,  to  whom  this  tenth  king  appears 
to  have  been  assimilated.  Thus  much  for  the  Babylonian  system. 

The  Phoenician  system  appears  likewise  to  have  been  connected 
in  some  way  with  the  antediluvian  dynasties,  and  indeed  our  next 
chapter  will  contain  ample  proofs  of  it.  The  position  of  the  star 
Ungal,  therefore,  as  assimilated  to  the  tenth  king,  corresponding  to 
Sisithros  and  Noah,  has  to  be  preserved  intact.  As  this  scheme 
commences  with  Gemini,  the  star  Ungal,  or  "  the  king,"  was  neces- 
sarily transferred  to  the  sign  Pisces,  to  which  corresponds  the  sin- 
gular title  of  Mercury  that  reads,  Kha  an  e-a,  "  Fish  of  the  god 
Hea."  Until  quite  recently  M.  Lenormant  has  not  hesitated  to 
identify  the  name  Hea  with  the  Biblical  Noah,  a  fact  which,  if  real, 
would  be  demonstrative  of  the  accuracy  of  these  explanations  rela- 


THE  TWELVE  STARS  OF  PHOENICIA. 


295 


tive  to  the  star  Ungal.  It  would  show  definitely  a  design,  based 
upon  traditional  ideas,  of  connecting  the  star  of  the  King  with  the 
sign  Pisces,  as  assimilated  to  the  Biblical  Noah.  This  whole  matter 
will  receive  full  attention  in  the  next  succeeding  chapter,  there 
being  no  opportunity  to  discuss  it  properly  in  the  present  chapter. 
We  assume,  then,  provisionally,  partly  on  the  basis  of  M.  Lenor- 
mant's  previous  views,  that  Hea  is  to  be  considered  the  same  as  the 
Biblical  Noah.  Hence,  while  Sisithros,  as  the  tenth  king,  should  be 
associated  with  Capricorn  in  the  Babylonian  system,  the  star  Ungal, 
in  the  Pho3nician  system,  was  purposely  assigned  to  Pisces,  in  order 
to  connect  it  with  the  god  Hea  identified  with  Noah  of  Genesis. 

SEC.  113.  If  there  has  seemed  to  be,  in  view  of  the  evidences 
thus  far  presented,  still  some  shades  of  obscurity  and  doubt  re- 
maining as  to  the  actual  scientific  character  of  the  method  of  ad- 
justment proposed  for  these  asterisms,  I  believe  the  data  to  be  now 
introduced  will  tend  to  remove  such  doubt,  and  settle  the  question 
of  the  zodiacal  arrangement  of  the  "  12  stars  of  the  west,"  an  ex- 
pression that  in  the  present  instance  must  relate  definitely  to 
Phoenicia.  It  will  be  necessary  to  place  before  the  reader's  eye  an 
accurate  representation,  so  far  as  possible,  of  the  published  text  of 
the  inscription  being  studied,  at  least  so  far  as  relates  to  our  twelve 
stars.  The  following  table  gives  the  Accadian  values  of  the  char- 
acters composing  the  text,  the  dotted  lines  showing  those  portions 
that  are  wanting :  — 


1st  Col.  Months. 

2d  Col.  Months. 

1st  Col.  Stars. 

2d  Col.  Stars. 

1  

leu. 

Mul  8e. 

Mul  Ni-bi.  ,  .  .ru. 

2  

12  Mul-mes. 

Mat  Akkad-ki. 

3. 

Ab.  Gan-gan-na. 
Ab.  Abba-uddu. 
Ab.  As-a-an. 
Ab.  Se-kin-tar. 

(1)  Mul  As-kar. 
(2)  Mul  Sir. 
(3)  Mul  Bar-tabba-galgal. 
(4)  Mul  Nin-makh. 
(5)  Mul  Ni~be-anu. 
(6)  Mul  Num-makh. 

(7)  Mul  Su-gi. 
(8)  Mul  Qag-sidi. 
(9)  Mul  Sir. 
(10)  Mul  Ungal. 
(11)  Mul  Al4an. 
(12)  Mul  Lab-a. 

4 

5.  Ab,  Si  an-bit-ti. 
6.  Ab.  Khul-eri-ba-a. 

7.  Ab.  Bara.  Mat.. 
8.  Ab. 

Ab.  Gut.  Mat  Ilama-ki. 
Ab.  Mar-tu-ki. 
Gu-ti-i 

9. 

12  Mul-mes. 

Mat  Martu-ki.  • 

The  Accadian  Ab  signifies  "  month,"  and  Mul  "  star."  The 
inscription  as  represented  shows  two  columns  of  months  and  two  of 
names  of  stars;  these  last  constituting  the  special  object  of  our 
study.  The  first  column  of  months,  very  defective,  seems  intended 


296  HAR-MOAD. 

to  set  forth  the  astrological  influences  exerted  by  each,  the  names 
attached  not  being  regular  denominations  of  the  months.  But  the 
second  column  of  months,  down  to  the  sixth  line  of  the  text,  con- 
tained the  regular  Accadian  names  in  full ;  four  of  which  remain 
entire,  the  two  upper  ones  being  defective.  Above  all,  the  tablet 
contained  much  more,  but  it  is  now  lost. 

It  must  be  apparent,  I  think,  that  the  two  columns  of  months 
involved  in  some  sense  a  regular  adjustment  to  the  two  columns  of 
stars.  But  of  the  first  column  of  months  we  can  decide  little  more , 
than  this :  it  contained  names  purely  mystical,  and  not  in  ordinary 
use  in  the  calendar.  Such  is  not  the  case  as  regards  the  second 
column ;  it  shows  even  now  several  names  well  known  as  belonging 
to  the  Accadian  calendar.  The  four  names,  the  months,  Gran,  or 
Gran-gan-na,  Ab,  or  Abba-udda,  and  so  the  month  As,  and  Se,  are 
seen  in  full,  and  it  is  to  be  especially  noted  that  they  close  the 
Babylonian  year,  The  proposition,  then,  which  I  have  to  submit 
is  as  follows:  The  second  column  of  months  was  intended,  as  showing 
the  proper  adjustment  of  the  second  column  of  asterisms  to  the  Baby- 
lonian calendar  and  the  zodiacal  signs.  A  completely  satisfactory 
proof  of  this  is  seen  in  the  very  first  line  of  the  text,  although  so 
defective.  The  syllable  ku  in  the  second  column  is  a  part  of  the 
Accadian  name  of  the  seventh  month,  Tul-ku.  The  corresponding 
asterism  in  the  second  column  of  stars  is  Ni-bi-ru,  and  this  is  the 
seventh  name  of  Mercury,  which  answers  to  the  month  Tul-ku  in 
the  ordinary  lists.  In  our  text,  Ni-bi-ru  is  given  as  one  of  the  stars 
of  Accad,  the  only  one  in  fact  whose  name  remains  in  a  tolerable 
state  of  preservation.  It  has  this  great  importance  to  us :  it  proves 
beyond  question  that  the  second  column  of  months  shows  the  zodi- 
acal arrangement  of  the  second  column  of  asterisms.  Compare, 
then,  this  table  with  our  table  of  adjustments  (Sec.  108),  and  it 
will  be  seen  that  I  have  equated  the  month  Gan  to  the  star  Sugi, 
the  month  Ab  to  the  star  Qaq-sidi,  the  month  As  to  the  star  Sir, 
and  the  month  Se  to  the  star  Ungal.  This  closes  the  Babylonian 
calendar,  as  indicated  by  the  heavy  line  beneath,  yet  there  are  two 
months  remaining  to  be  adjusted,  and  two  r.sterisms  in  the  second 
column  that  remain  unadjusted.  We  have  first  the  "  month  Gut," 
which  means  the  Taurus  ;  and  to  correspond  is  the  star  Al-lab,  or 
Al-lap,  evidently  the  same  as  Alap,  ordinary  Assyrian  name  for  the 
Taurus,  Then  there  is  the  month  Martu-ki^  "  month  of  the  west," 


THE  TWELVE  STARS  OF  PHCENICIA.  297 

of  Phoenicia,  but  without  stating  what  particular  month  is  to  be 
understood.  Probably  we  should  assume  the  month  Bara,  the  sign 
Aries,  to  which  must  be  adjusted  the  star  Lab-a,  since  all  the  other 
months  and  signs  have  been  properly  accounted  for. 

SEC.  114.  Nothing  more  is  required,  according  to  my  judgment, 
to  establish  the  correctness  of  the  theory  which  has  been  put  forth 
relative  to  the  true  zodiacal  arrangement  of  these  asterisms.  My 
aim  has  been  to  place  a  matter  of  such  importance,  considering  the 
obscurity  still  existing  relative  to  Babylonian  uranography,  upon  a 
strictly  scientific  basis,  and  so  far  as  concerns  these  asterisms  I  be- 
lieve the  effort  has  been  quite  successful.  Before  resting  fully  in 
this  conclusion,  however,  it  is  necessary  to  notice  briefly  an  astro- 
nomical tablet  recently  discovered  and  partly  translated  by  Mr. 
George  Smith,  as  seen  in  his  "  Assyrian  Discoveries."  According 
to  this*  tablet,  the  star  Ni-be-anu^  or  Nibat-anu,  is  assimilated  to  the 
sign  Sagittarius,  corresponding  to  the  month  Kisi-livu,  or  Kisler^ 
instead  of  to  Libra,  as  in  the  scheme  here  proposed.1  But  "as  Nibe- 
anu  is  regarded  as  a  planet,  and  not  as  a  fixed  star,  nothing  results 
from  a  variation  of  this  kind.  Yet,  owing  to  a  certain  erroneous 
statement  by  the  author,  the  circumstance  here  noted  might  be 
interpreted  as  a  serious  objection  to  my  hypothesis.  Mr.  Smith 
remarks:  "The  star  Nibat-anu  has  hitherto  been  erroneously  sup- 
posed to  be  a  planet."  2  Naturally,  we  look  for  some  proof  of  a 
declaration  so  important,  and  one  that  is  opposed  to  the  universally 
received  opinions  of  Assyriologues  for  many  years  past ;  but  the 
author  affords  us  none,  except  that  which  seems  to  have  deceived 
him,  namely,  the  fact  that  Nibat-anu  is  assimilated  to  a  particular 
month  and  sign  in  the  tablet  translated  by  him,  the  month  Kisler 
and  sign  Sagittarius.  He  has  inferred  from  this,  apparently,  that 
Nibat-anu  was  the  name  of  a  constellation  or  fixed  star,  and  not  of  a 
planet.  But  this  term  denotes  a  planet  beyond  question,  and  in  all 
probability  Mars.  Two  complete  lists  of  the  seven  planets  are 
given  in  the  published  texts,  and  in  both  Nibat-anu  is  included 
among  them.3  These  lists  as  cited  below  leave  no  doubt  upon  the 
matter.  Hence,  we  reaffirm  our  belief  that  the  zodiacal  arrangement 
of  the  twelve  stars  to  which  we  have  devoted  our  attention,  and  as 
determined  by  us,  is  scientifically  correct. 

1  Assyr.  Dis.,  p.  408.  2  Ibid.,  p.  407. 

8  Vid.  2d  Kawl.  PI.  48,  Obs,  Col.  i.  11.  48-54.  Cf.  3d  Rawl.  PI.  57,  No.  6.  11. 
65-67. 


298  HAR-MOAD. 

It  is  necessary  to  offer  briefly  some  explanation  here  relative  to 
the  month  Grut,  equated  to  the  country  Mat  ilama-ki  and  to  the 
star  Mul  al-lap,  also  relative  to  the  month  Martu-ki,  equated  to  Mul 
lab-a,  the  star  Lab-a.  The  month  Se-kin-tar  that  immediately  pre- 
cedes these  closes  the  Babylonian  year,  as  is  well  known,  and  the 
heavy  line  beneath  is  designed  to  indicate  this  fact.  Yet  two  aster- 
isms  remained  to  be  adjusted  to  their  respective  zodiacal  positions, 
and  in  the  two  months  here  alluded  to  the  scribe  has  undertaken  to 
do  so,  but  he  has  introduced  a  mystical  element  that  needs  some 
elucidation.  I  shall  endeavor  to  place  this  matter  in  a  clear  light 
in  another  chapter  devoted  to  the  subject  of  the  Cherubim.  For 
the  present  it  will  suffice  to  say  that  the  asterism  Gut,  being  the 
constellation  Taurus,  is  here  put  for  the  country  of  llama,  the  Bibli- 
cal Elam,  modern  Susiana.  In  the  symbolical  system  of  geography, 
of  which  our  tablet  offers  a  practical  illustration,  and  in  which  the 
country  of  Accad  holds  the  central  position,  llama  represents  the 
east,  and  Martu,  or  Phoenicia,  the  west.  The  peculiar  arrange- 
ment of  the  two  months  in  question  is  due  to  these  considerations. 
The  month  G-ut,  set  to  llama,  represents  I  he  east.  In  other  terms, 
the  celestial  Taurus  is  transferred  to  the  east  quarter  of  the  hea- 
vens, while  Aries  retains  its  normal  position  in  the  west  quarter, 
being  put  for  the  west  country,  that  is  to  say,  for  Martu,  or  Phoe- 
nicia. The  month  Aries,  or  JBara,  opens  the  Babylonian  year. 
This  accounts  for  the  fact  that  the  natural  order  of  the  two  stars 
Al-lap  and  Lab-a  is  inverted  in  the  text,  but  I  have  restored  them 
to  their  normal  position  in  the  table  of  adjustments.  As  the  Phoe- 
nician stars  represent  a  calendar  that  opens  two  signs  after  that  of 
Babylon,  that  is,  in  Gemini,  it  results  that  Aries  and  Taurus,  com- 
mencing the  Babylonian  year,  are  made  to  close  the  Phoenician 
year.  These  remarks,  I  think,  are  entirely  suffice  nt  in  elucidation, 
and  as  an  analysis  of  the  text  forming  the  subject  of  the  present 
study. 

SEC.  115.  The  question  naturally  arises  here  whether  this  ar- 
rangement of  the  "  twelve  stars  of  the  west "  was  ever  employed 
by  the  Phoenicians,  or  by  any  other  people,  for  the  practical  pur- 
poses of  a  calendar  ?  If  we  speak  of  historical  times  I  do  not  think 
any  satisfactory  evidence  could  be  adduced,  showing  that  such  was 
the  case.  In  Western  Asia,  and  since  a  very  early  epoch,  the  Baby- 
lonian calendar  seems  to  have  been  very  generally  adopted.  In 


THE  TWELVE   STARS  OF  PHCENICIA.  299 

some  instances  two  systems  were  employed,  a  civil  and  a  sacred  or 
religious  year,  which  differed  from  each  other  as  to  the  period  of 
commencement.  We  know,  too,  that  the  order  of  the  zodiacal  signs, 
beginning  with  Aries  and  terminating  with  Pisces  had  no  control- 
ling influence,  outside  of  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates,  in  determin- 
ing the  commencement  of  the  calendars.  They  frequently  varied 
in  respect  to  the  particular  sign  with  which  they  opened.  Still,  I 
am  not  aware  of  the  existence  of  any  calendar  in  practical  use  since 
the  opening  of  the  historical  period  that  commenced  with  the  sign 
Gemini.  If  this  arrangement  of  twelve  stars  which  we  have 
studied  was  ever  in  use  for  such  purpose,  it  must  have  been  in  an 
epoch  extremely  remote,  and  it  had  afterwards  been  superseded 
for  practical  use  by  others,  being  itself  exclusively  retained  subse- 
quently merely  as  traditional,  and  as  belonging  to  the  sacred  science 
inherited  from  a  former  age.  Nevertheless,  it  is  evident  that  a 
much  greater  importance  was  attached,  in  very  early  times,  to  these 
twelve  stars  of  Phoenicia  than  the  remarks  just  submitted  would 
lead  one  to  suppose.  Ample  evidence  that  such  was  actually  the 
case  will  be  produced  in  the  chapters  immediately  following. 

Our  tablet  establishes  one  important  fact,  to  which  allusion  was 
made  in  a  previous  study,  and  which  our  present  researches  have 
tended  to  impress  still  more  strongly  upon  the  mind.  It  is  that 
the  habit  of  associating  certain  asterisms  with  such  and  such  peo- 
ples or  countries  was  quite  prevalent  in  antiquity,  and  this  proves 
that,  in  such  case,  they  were  regarded  as  celestial  earths  or  ter- 
restrial heavens,  conformably  to  the  traditional  notions  attached  to 
the  primitive  abode  of  mankind.  The  frequent  custom  of  dividing 
the  population  into  twelve  tribes,  and  the  national  domain  into 
twelve  districts,  or  cities,  evidently  arose  from  the  same  order  of 
conceptions.  In  every  instance  the  notion  was  a  heaven  +  earth ; 
the  notion  on  a  large  scale  corresponded  to  the  two  divisions  of  the 
temple  itself,  one  representing  heaven,  the  other  the  earth,  and  the 
original  idea  had  been  derived  from  the  particular  heaven  and  earth 
constituting  the  celestial  and  terrestrial  paradise. 

In  the  symbolical  geography  of  Sargon  the  ancient,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  country  of  Accad  replaced  the  sacred  mount  of 
the  East,  the  KharsaJc-kurra^  or  "  mountain  of  the  world,"  as  Rev. 
Mr.  Sayce  rather  loosely  interprets  this  phrase.  The  element  Khar 
signifies  "circle,  bracelet"  (Rep.  440),  and  Sak  has  the  sense  of 


300 


HAR-MOAD. 


"head,  front,  summit"  (Rep.  136).  The  syllable  Kur  is  only  an- 
other value  of  the  Accadian  Mat,  "  country,"  and  has  the  meaning 
of  "to  elevate,  mountain,  east"  (Rep.  419).  Finally,  Ra  signifies, 
among  other  things,  "inundation,  deluge"  (Rep.  303).  "The 
bracelet  or  circle  of  the  summit  of  the  diluvian  mountain  "  may 
be  taken  for  the  traditional  conception,  which  has  been  crystallized 
in  this  cuneiform  expression.  Mt.  Meru,  to  which  the  phrase  ob- 
viously relates,  was  regarded  as  the  primitive  Ararat,  and  its  sum- 
mit was  sometimes  known  as  the  "  circle  or  bracelet  of  Ida,"  the 
mountain  goddess,  of  whom  some  notices  have  been  heretofore  in- 
troduced. We  say  that  Accad,  or  Akkad,  a  name  signifying 
"  mountain  or  highland,"  according  to  M.  Lenormant,  replaced 
the  Khar  sale-hurra  in  the  symbolical  system  of  the  ancient  Sargon. 
Aram  signifies  "  highland,"  also,  and  we  have  seen  that  among 
the  Semites  a  system  precisely  like  that  of  which  Accad  formed 
the  centre  was  primitively  connected  with  this  country.  The  Bib- 
lical Elam,  likewise,  the  llama  of  our  tablet,  has  been  interpreted 
as  meaning  the  same  thing,  that  is,  "  highland."  It  is  quite  prob- 
able that  originally  certain  asterisms  were  associated  with  each 
one  of  these  "  highlands,"  always  in  imitation  of  that  divine  sum- 
mit around  which  rolled  the  flaming  chariot  of  the  seven  stars.  It 
is  impossible  not  to  see  in  these  traditional  ideas  the  origin  of  the 
"high  places"  of  worship  to  which,  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  make 
so  many  allusions.  Indeed,  the  sacred  summits  of  all  antiquity 
were  but  projecting  spurs,  so  to  speak,  from  the  mount  of  paradise. 
The  sentiment  that  embodied  itself  in  these  sacred  elevations  was 
perfectly  human  and  natural,  for  as  the  immortal  Goethe  says :  — 
"  On  every  height  there  lies  repose." 


CHAPTER  XL 

ZODIACAL  ARRANGEMENT   OF  THE  ANTEDILUVIAN   GENEALOGIES. 

SEC,  116.  In  reporting  the  Chaldseo-Baby  Ionian  traditions  per- 
taining to  the  first  ages  of  the  world,  Berosus  gives  a  list  of  ten 
kings  supposed  to  have  reigned  during  the  antediluvian  period.  It 
was  in  the  days  of  the  last  of  these  kings,  named  Xisuthrus,  Greek 
Sisithros,  that  occurred  the  deluge.  Biblical  scholars  have  very 
naturally  seen  in  this  Babylonian  genealogy  a  confirmation  of  that 
given  by  Moses,  extending  from  Adam  to  Noah.  In  some  sense  it 
is  proper  to  regard  it  as  such.  I  think  it  could  be  shown  that  at 
Babylon  this  succession  of  primitive  rulers  was  considered  as  real, 
and  hence  as  historical.  But  certain  facts  have  been  developed  by 
modern  criticism  tending  to  throw  doubt  upon  the  actual  historical 
reality,  at  least  of  a  portion  of  the  list  handed  down  by  Berosus. 
The  etymology  that  has  been  discovered  of  some  of  these  names 
renders  it  almost  certain  that  they  were  simple  designations  of 
zodiacal  signs,  or  constellations,  to  which  unquestionably  they  had 
been  assimilated.  It  would  be  impossible  to  prove,  at  the  present 
day,  that  all  of  them  were  of  this  nature ;  but  those  which  undoubt- 
edly were,  forcibly  give  rise  to  suspicions  as  respects  the  histori- 
cal character  of  the  others.  Hence,  what  was  formerly  supposed, 
and  with  much  reason,  to  confirm  the  actual  chronological  succes- 
sion of  the  Mosaical  line  of  patriarchs,  extending  from  Adam  to 
Noah,  appears  now  in  a  measure  as  an  obstacle  to  considering  it  in 
this  light ;  for  one  is  strongly  inclined  to  infer,  if  the  Babylonian  list 
was  purely  zodiacal,  that  the  Mosaic  genealogy  was  of  like  charac- 
ter, especially  as  recent  developments  in  cuneiform  science  tend 
more  and  more  to  establish  the  fact  that  the  Hebrew  and  Baby- 
lonian traditions  relating  to  primeval  times  had  a  common  origin. 
Undoubtedly,  as  we  shall  be  able  to  show,  both  these  genealogies 
were  in  some  sense  zodiacal.  But  the  question  arises,  Were  they 


302  HAR-MOAD. 

merely  zodiacal?  It  does  not  appear  to  me  possible,  in  the  present 
state  of  our  knowledge,  to  offer  a  completely  satisfactory  reply  to 
this  inquiry.  That  the  two  genealogies  had  been,  at  an  extremely 
remote  epoch,  definitely  connected  with  the  zodiac  will  be  readily 
conceded,  I  think,  in  view  of  the  evidences  that  are  to  be  presented 
in  this  part  of  our  studies.  That  they  had  in  addition  to  this  a 
genuine  historical  character,  I  am  not  able  to  prove  or  disprove, 
though  I  am  inclined,  from  certain  considerations  that  will  gradu- 
ally develop  themselves  as  we  proceed,  to  adopt  the  traditionary 
belief  respecting  this  matter.  We  give,  in  the  first  place,  our  con- 
sideration to  the  Babylonian  genealogy,  which  is  reported  by  Be- 
rosus  as  follows  :  (1)  Alorus;  (2)  Alaparus;  (3)  Almelon ;  (4) 
Ammenon  ;  (5)  Amegalarus ;  (6)  Davonus;  (7)  Edoranchus;  (8) 
Amemphsinus ;  (9)  Otiartes ;  (10)  Xisuthrus. 

It  was  stated  in  a  previous  chapter  that  the  twelve  zodiacal  con- 
stellations had  been  employed  at  Babylon  for  the  purpose  of  mark- 
ing the  divisions  of  three  distinct  periods  of  time.  1st.  They 
marked  the  twelve  hours  of  the  day,  these  being  double  hours  and 
termed  Kas-lu  in  the  inscriptions.  2d.  They  corresponded  to  the 
twelve  months  of  the  year,  a  fact  familiar  to  every  one.  3d.  They 
were  associated  to  the  twelve  divisions  of  the  great  cosmical  year, 
which  was  supposed  to  have  commenced  at  the  dawn  of  creation.1 
In  each  case  the  starting-point  appears  to  have  been  Aries,  or  the 
Ram.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  this,  except  as  regards  the  hours, 
and  since  the  custom  was  so  widely  prevalent  of  beginning  the  day 
at  evening,  there  is  every  probability  that  the  hours  likewise  were 
reckoned  from  Aries.  It  was  with  these  great  cosmical  periods  that 
the  reigns  of  the  ten  antediluvian  kings  were  habitually  identified. 
It  was  in  this  general  sense  without  doubt,  and,  so  far  as  I  am  aware, 
in  no  other,  that  the  ten  kings  had  been  associated  with  the  zodi- 
acal signs,  beginning  with  Aries  and  terminating  with  Capricorn. 
Alorus,  the  first  ruler,  was  connected  with  Aries,  Alaparus  with 
Taurus,  and  thus  on  to  Capricorn,  to  which  Xisuthrus  appertained. 
There  are  indications  in  this  arrangement  that  these  ten  kings  were 
at  least  believed  to  be  historical,  though  the  basis  of  such  belief,  as 
we  shall  see,  was  not  wholly  sound.  The  twelve  hours  were  cer- 
tainly time  periods,  and  so  were  the  twelve  months  of  the  year. 

1  Vid.  Lenormant,  Frag,  de  Berose,  pp.  184-240.  Cf.  Movers,  Die  Phoenizier, 
i.  pp.  164-166. 


THE  TWELVE  STARS   OF  PHCENICIA.  303 

There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  cosmical  periods  were  equally 
regarded  as  such.  But  while  the  first  two  appertained  to  the  calen- 
dar simply,  the  last  was  properly  speaking  chronological.  It  is 
evident  that  these  chronological  periods  were  not  correctly  histori- 
cal, yet  they  appear  to  have  been  assumed  as  such,  and  this  shows 
that  the  ten  kings  were  taken  in  some  sense  as  historical.  Thus,  if 
we  accept  the  Babylonian  belief  as  a  proof,  the  genealogy  transmit- 
ted by  Berosus  must  be  regarded  in  this  light.  But  the  facts  to 
be  now  presented  tend  wholly,  or  nearly  so,  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion. 

SEC.  117.  The  following  extract  contains  Dr.  Movers'  proposed 
etymology  of  the  two  names,  Alorus  and  Alaparus,  standing  at  the 
head  of  the  Babylonian  genealogy  :  — 

"  It  is  without  any  hesitation,  since  the  year  commenced  with 
Aries  and  Taurus,  that  we  interpret  the  name  of  the  king  Al-or-us 
as  aries  lucis  (TIS  Vs),  and  Alap-ar-us  as  taurus  ignis  (^s  H^K)-"  * 

The  term  Alap  is  an  ordinary  Semitic  expression  for  the  Taurus, 
and  Ail,  to  which  Dr.  Movers  assimilates  Al  in  the  name  Al-or-us, 
is  equally  common  as  a  designation  for  Aries,  or  the  Ram.  We 
should  hesitate  in  a  matter  of  such  great  importance  to  rest  wholly 
upon  the  authority  of  so  learned  a  critic  even  as  the  one  here  cited. 
But  M.  F.  Lenormant,  whose  critical  ability  is  not  less  marked  and 
extensively  acknowledged,  has  recently  given  the  same  matter  a 
careful  consideration,  and  thus  expresses  his  views  relative  to  the 
names  of  these  kings  :  — 

*'  The  first  two  are  certain,  and  their  forms  have  submitted  to  but 
little  alteration,  for  we  find  the  same  words  which  in  the  Assyrian 
language  denote  the  first  two  zodiacal  signs,  ail,  *  the  Ram,'  alap, 
4  the  Taurus.'  As  to  the  final  elements,  orus  and  arus,  it  seems 
that  we  have  a  right  to  recognize  them  in  the  word  Ur,  '  light.' 
We  have,  then,  Ail-ur,  '  Aries  of  light,'  and  Alap-ur,  '  Taurus  of 
light,'  and  these  two  names  are,  alone  considered,  decisive  for  the 
character  of  the  list/'  "  Thus,  the  ten  antediluvian  kings  are  per- 
sonifications of  the  solar  houses  (mbftt),  which  the  idolatrous  He- 
brews, during  the  period  of  Assyrian  influence,  adored  with  the  sun, 
the  moon,  and  all  the  celestial  hosts."  2 

The  author  interprets  the  third  name  with  almost  equal  confi- 
dence as  denoting  "  the  sons,"  that  is,  "  the  twins,"  answering  to 

1  Die  Phcen.,  i.  p.  165. 

2  Frag,  de  J3erose,  pp.  235,  236,  238. 


304 


HAR-MOAD. 


Gemini ;  but  here  there  is,  to  say  the  least,  an  element  of  uncer- 
tainty. So  far  as  concerns  the  first  two  names  it  must  be  admitted, 
if  I  am  able  to  judge,  that  they  are  simple  designations  of  the  two 
signs  which  correspond  to  the  commencement  of  the  Babylonian 
calendar.  I  am  not  prepared  to  adopt,  in  its  entire  consequences, 
the  inferences  drawn  by  the  author  that  these  two  names  "are 
decisive  for  the  character  of  the  whole  series."  That  all  the  kings 
hud  been  assimilated  to  the  zodiacal  constellations  appears  to  admit 
of  no  question.  But  I  think  that,  beginning  with  Gemini,  there  are 
many  indications  of  a  proper  historical  element  as  constituting  the 
basis,  and  these  will  appear  as  we  proceed. 

We  turn  our  attention  now  to  the  Mosaic  genealogy  of  the 
patriarchs,  beginning  with  Adam  and  terminating  with  Noah.  It 
will  not  be  difficult  to  show  here  at  least  an  indirect  relation  to  the 
zodiacal  signs.  Some  of  the  names  very  clearly  indicate  to  what 
particular  signs  they  are  to  be  assimilated.  But  as  for  identity  of 
names,  such  as  appears  in  those  of  Alorus  and  Alaparus,  it  will  be 
difficult  to  prove  it,  except  in  one  or  two  instances  at  most.  The 
proofs  of  an  association  with  the  zodiac  consist,  for  the  most  part, 
in  the  direct  analogies  of  ideas  existing,  as  denoted  by  the  Hebrew 
names,  and  as  compared  with  other  titles  whose  reference  to  the 
zodiacal  divisions  is  not  a  matter  of  doubt.  But  the  Mosaic  list 
presents,  in  some  particulars,  a  system  quite  distinct  from  that  of 
the  Babylonians;  and  any  attempt  to  connect  the  Hebrew  names 
directly  with  the  Babylonian  would  necessarily  prove,  as  always 
heretofore,  a  complete  failure.  The  real  secret  of  the  adjustment 
of  the  Mosaic  genealogy  to  the  zodiac  is  precisely  that  which  has 
been  demonstrated  with  respect  to  the  "  twelve  stars  of  the  west," 
or  of  Phoenicia :  the  whole  list  must  be  moved  forward  two  entire 
signs  in  relation  to  the  Babylonian  system.  Adam,  the  same  as  the 
star  As-Jcar,  corresponds  to  Gemini ;  and  Noah,  the  tenth  patriarch, 
answers  to  the  sign  Pisces,  the  star  of  the  King.  The  moment  we 
assume  this  standpoint  of  investigation,  the  analogies  between  the 
ideas  involved  in  the  Hebrew  names  and  various  others  whose  zodi- 
acal character  is  fixed  become  very  striking  and  numerous.  The 
names  and  positions  of  the  asterisms  which  occupied  our  attention 
in  the  last  chapter  will  be  found  to  contribute  largely,  though  not 
exclusively,  to  the  elucidation  of  the  zodiacal  character  of  the 
Mosaic  genealogy.  These  asterisms  will  serve  frequently  as  inter- 


THE  TWELVE  STARS  OF  PHCENICIA.  305 

preters  between  the  known  and  unknown.     With  these  preliminary 
remarks,  we  enter  directly  upon  the  investigations  before  us. 

SEC.  118.  1st.  As-kar  and  Adam.  The  Accadian  As  has  the 
sense  of  "  happy,  propitious  "  (Rep.  1).  The  element  Kar,  as  pre- 
viously explained,  means  "  summit;"  but  this  is  only  another  value 
of  the  sign  Gran,  "  inclosure,  garden,"  identical  with  the  Hebrew 
G-an  in  the  phrase  Gran-Eden,  or  "  Garden  of  Eden."  Whether 
we  select  the  interpretation,  then,  of  "  propitious  summit,"  of 
"  happy  garden,"  or  "  garden  of  delights,"  the  reference  of  the  term 
As-kar  to  the  mount  of  paradise,  the  traditional  abode  of  primeval 
humanity,  is  a  point  upon  which  not  much  doubt  can  be  enter- 
tained. But  it  is  apparently  not  less  certain  that  As-kar  was  a  name 
of  the  first  man,  the  same  as  Adam  is  supposed  to  have  been ; 
for  Professor  Max  Miiller,  in  some  remarks  upon  the  "  Northern 
Mythology  "  appertaining  to  the  ancient  populations  of  the  north 
of  Europe,  states  the  following,  which  evidently  justifies  our 
opinion  :  — 

"The  second  son  of  Mannus,  Isco,  has  been  identified  by  Grimm 
with  Askr,  another  name  of  the  first-born  man.  Askr  means  like- 
wise ash-tree,  and  it  has  been  supposed  that  the  name  ash  thus  given 
to  the  first  man  came  from  the  same  conception  which  led  the 
Greeks  to  imagine  that  one  of.  the  races  of  man  sprang  from  ash- 
trees  (?K/-ie/\iai/).  Alcuin  still  uses  the  expression,  son  of  the  ash- 
tree,  as  synonymous  with  man." 1 

As  given  by  Professor  Miiller,  this  name  of  the  first-born  man  is 
without  a  vowel  in  the  last  half  of  the  word.  It  is  sometimes  writ- 
ten Askur,  of  which  Askar,  phonetically  identical  with  the  cunei- 
form As-kar,  would  be  but  a  simple  variant.  The  two  names  may 
be  taken,  therefore,  as  originally  the  same.  The  legends  respecting 
Askur,  as  contained  in  the  "  Northern  Mythology,"  are  thus  vari- 
ously related  by  different  writers :  — 

"  As  Bor's  sons  were  once  walking  on  the  seashore,  they  found  two 
blocks  (or  trees),  of  which  they  created  a  man  called  Askur  (asA), 
and  a  woman  Embla  (alder)"  "  Three  gods  issuing  from  Asgarthr 
found  two  trees,  the  ash  and  alder,  upon  the  borders  of  the  sea, 
which  were  without  force  and  posterity.  The  gods  had  compassion 
upon  them,  and  formed  of  one  a  man  and  of  the  other  a  woman."  2 

1  Led.  Sci.  Language,  2d  series,  p.  476. 

2  Encyc.  Americana,  vol.  ix.,  art.  "  Northern  Mythology."    Cf.  Le  Bas,  L'  Uni- 
vers :  Suede  et  Norwe'ge,  p.  9. 


306  HAR-MOAD. 

It  is  probable  that  the  name  Askar  gave  rise  to  tlie  term  Asgard 
or  Asgarthr,  applied  to  the  residence  of  the  Scandinavian  divinities, 
or  those  of  the  northern  mythology,  whose  chief  seems  to  have 
been  the  god  Odin.  The  writers  just  cited  have  respectively  the 
following  notices  of  this  locality  :  — 

"The  residence  of  the  gods  is  Asgard,  a  fortress  of  heaven, 
whence  the  bridge  Bifrost  leads  to  the  earth.  Asgard  contained 
the  palaces  of  the  gods.  ...  In  the  centre  of  Asgard,  in  the  valley 
of  Ida,  was  the  place  of  meeting,  where  the  gods  administered  jus- 
tice." "  Odin,  Nile,  and  Ve  constructed  upon  earth  an  immense 
fortress  in  defense  against  the  giants,  and  called  it  Midgard  (the 
world).  At  the  centre  of  this  fortress  is  found  Atgarthr,  the  resi- 
dence of  the  gods.  .  .  .  It  is  there  that  the  twelve  great  gods  are 
assembled." 1 

The  followers  of  Odin,  according  to  all  accounts,  came  from  Asia 
from  beyond  the  Caspian  Sea ;  and  everything  tends  to  identify  the 
ancient  Asgard  with  Meru  of  the  Hindus,  Albordj  of  the  Persians, 
the  Eden  of  Genesis.  Compare  the  "valley  of  Ida"  with  the  god- 
dess Ida,  associated  with  Mt.  Meru.  Compare,  also,  the  place  of 
the  assembly  of  the  gods  in  Asgard  with  the  mount  of  assembly,  to 
which  Isaiah  alludes.  But  recent  writers  do  not  hesitate  to  identify 
these  two  localities;  and  this  point  may  be  assumed  without  special 
labors  to  establish  it.  That  to  which  we  wish  to  call  attention  is 
the  relation  between  Askur,  Asgard,  and  the  cuneiform  As-kar. 
The  permutation  of  the  vowels  u  and  a,  and  the  consonants  Jc  and  g, 
is  so  frequent  in  nearly  all  languages  that  it  needs  no  explanation 
in  the  present  case.  The  Accadian  g  is  often  changed  to  k,  and  vice 
versa.  We  hold,  then  that  the  name  Asgard,  as  locality,  is  sim- 
ply As-gar-d,  or  the  name  As-kar  taking  a  locative  termination,  like 
Akka-d  for  Akkad,  according  to  M.  Lenormant's  etymology.  Thus, 
Askur,  name  of  the  first  man,  gives  rise  to  Asgard,  applied  to  the 
first  abode  of  man,  and  both  are  to  be  assimilated  to  As-kar,  relat- 
ing to  the  same  abode,  being  employed  also  as  a  name  of  Mercury. 
The  classic  authors  identified  Odin  with  Mercury,  and  it  is  remark- 
able that,  like  Mercury,  Odin  had  twelve  chief  names.  It  is  dif- 
ficult to  resist  the  conclusion  in  view  of  these  facts :  1st.  That  the 
Accadian  As-kar  was  the  name  of  the  first  human  , abode  derived 
from  the  title  of  the  first  man.  2d.  That  the  Scandinavian  Asgard 
was  the  name  of  the  same  locality,  derived  from  AsJcur,  also  a  title 
1  Enc.  Amer.,  ix.  p.  319  ;  Le  Bas,  UUnivers:  Suede  et  Norwege,  p.  9. 


THE  TWELVE  STARS  OF  PHOENICIA.  307 

of  the  first  man.  3d.  That  the  two  sets  of  terminologies  were 
derived  from  the  same  source.  4th.  That  the  notions  involved  in 
these  terms  offer  an  exact  analogy  with  those  connected  with  the 
name  Adam,  traditionally  associated  with  the  term  Adama,  signify- 
ing "earth,"  here  the  particular  earth  constituting  man's  primitive 
home. 

SEC.  119.  In  the  last  chapter  the  star  As-kar  was  identified  with 
the  "  god  As-kar,  gate  of  the  gods,"  as  name  of  Mercury,  both  being 
assimilated  to  the  zodiacal  sign  Gemini.  It  has  been  stated  hereto- 
fore, and  it  is  a  fa'ct  well  known,  that  the  Oriental  zodiacs,  espe- 
cially the  Hindu,  represent  a  man  and  woman  in  the  sign  Gemini, 
instead  of  two  male  figures  as  in  the  Greek  system.  The  man  and 
woman  thus  represented  appear  to  have  been  identified  with  the 
Hindu  Yama  and  Yami,  reputed  first  human  pair.  Professor  Whit- 
ney, a  portion  of  whose  language  has  been  previously  cited,  has  the 
following  upon  Yama :  — 

"  His  name  does  not  come,  according  to  the  usual  interpretation, 
from  the  root  yam,  'subdue,  repress;'  it  is  radically  akin  to  the 
Latin  gem-ini,  etc.,  and  means  4  twin.'  In  him  and  in  his  sister 
Yami  are  conceived  the  first  human  pair,  parents  of  the  whole  fol- 
lowing race;  he  is  therefore,  as  expressly  stated  in  the  hymns,  the 
first  who  made  his  way  to  the  skies,  pointing  out  the  road  thither 
to  all  succeeding  generations,  and  preparing  a  place  for  their  recep- 
tion ;  by  the  most  natural  transition,  then,  he  becomes  their  king.  It 
is  in  entire  consistency  with  this  that,  in  Persian  story,  where  he 
appears  as  Yirna  (later  Jein-shid),  he  is  made  ruler  of  the  golden 
age  and  founder  of  the  Paradise."  l 

In  his  interpretation  of  the  character  of  Yama  and  Yami,  Profes- 
sor Whitney  adopts  the  views  of  Professor  Roth.  Professor  Miiller 
rejects  the  interpretation  entirely,  regarding  Yama  wholly  in  the 
light  of  a  solar  deity.  After  citing  various  texts  from  the  hymns, 
he  observes : — 

"  These  indications,  though  fragmentary,  are  sufficient  to  show 
that  the  character  of  Yama,  such  as  we  find  it  in  the  last  book  of 
the  Rig- Veda,  might  well  have  been  suggested  by  the  setting  sun, 
personified  as  the  leader  of  the  human  race,  as  himself  a  mortal,  yet 
as  a  king,  as  the  ruler  of  the  departed,  as  worshiped  with  the 
fathers,  as  the  first  witness  of  an  immortality  to  be  enjoyed  by  the 
fathers,"  etc.2 

1  Orient,  and  Ling.  Studies,  p.  45. 

2  Led.  Sci.  Language,  2d  series,  p.  535. 


308  HAR-MOAD. 

The  same  writer  has  the  following  remarks,  quite  important  to 
our  purpose :  — 

"As  the  east  was  to  the  early  thinkers  the  source  of  life,  the 
west  was  to  them  Nirriti,  the  exodus,  the  land  of  death.  The 
sun,  conceived  as  setting  or  dying  every  day,  was  the  first  who  had 
trodden  the  path  of  life  from  east  to  west, — the  first  mortal,  —  the 
first  to  show  us  the  way  when  our  course  is  run,  and  our  sun  sets  in 
the  far  west.  Thither  the  fathers  followed  Yama ;  there  they  sit 
with  him  rejoicing,  and  thither  we  too  shall  go  when  his  messen- 
gers (day  and  night)  have  found  us  out."  1 

Finally,  the  author  concludes  :  — 

44  Professor  Roth  has  pointed  out  some  more  minute  coincidences 
in  the  story  of  Jem-shid,  but  his  attempt  at  changing  Yama  and 
Yima  into  an  Indian  and  Persian  Adam  was,  I  believe,  a  mistake. 
Professor  Kuhn  was  right,  therefore,  in  rejecting  this  portion  of 
Professor  Roth's  analysis."  2 

I  freely  acknowledge  myself  greatly  indebted  to  Professor  Muller 
in  his  researches  upon  the  subject  of  comparative  mythology,  in 
respect  to  which  he  is  in  some  sense  the  founder  of  a  school.  But 
it  has  always  seemed  to  me  that  two  fundamental  errors  may  be 
pointed  out  in  his  system,  tending  to  vitiate  almost  all  his  interpre- 
tations of  the  ancient  legends.  But  these  are  not  so  much  errors  as 
mistaken  points  of  view.  In  the  first  place,  he  occupies  too  exclu- 
sively the  standpoint  of  the  Rig-Veda.  Secondly,  he  confines  him- 
self too  exclusively  to  the  diurnal  aspects  of  nature.  In  relation  to 
the  first  point  indicated,  it  is  to  be  said  that  the  legends  connected 
with  Osiris  by  the  Egyptians  are  strictly  analogous,  in  almost  all 
the  features  pertaining  to  his  character,  to  those  relating  to  the 
Hindu  Yama.  Osiris  is  the  sun,  yet  he  formerly  reigned  on  the 
earth.  He  is  god  of  the  dead,  like  Yama,  and  his  descent  into  the 
dark  regions  of  the  west  has  given  rise  to  the  same  conceptions 
that  among  the  Hindus  were  associated  with  Yama.  The  funda- 
mental idea  in  both  characters  has  been  correctly  pointed  out  by 
M.  Mariette,  as  cited  in  a  previous  chapter  (Sec.  85),  although 
exclusively  interpreted  by  him  of  Osiris.  The  sun's  course  had 
been  taken  as  a  symbol  of  human  existence,  a  fact  that  appears  in 
nearly  all  the  ancient  religions.  It  will  be  seen  from  this  ground 
principle  that  the  two  characters  of  Yama  as  sun-god  and  as  the 
first  man,  representative  of  the  whole  human  race,  are  perfectly  con- 
1  Lect.  Sci.  Language,  2d  series,  p.  534.  2  Ibid.,  p.  542. 


THE  TWELVE  STARS  OF  PHOENICIA.  309 

sistent  with  each  other,  and  doubtless  did  appertain  to  this  Vedic 
personage.  I  think,  therefore,  that  Professor  Roth's  interpretation 
is  perfectly  correct,  and  that  Professor  Whitney  was  fully  justified 
in  adopting  it.  At  the  same  time  Professor  Miiller  is  fully  sup- 
ported in  assimilating  Yaina  to  the  sun's  course. 

With  regard  to  the  second  point  alluded  to,  it  may  be  observed 
thiit  in  general  the  same  opposition  which  exists  in  the  diurnal 
aspects  of  nature,  as  between  day  and  night,  morning  and  evening, 
repeats  itself  as  between  summer  and  winter,  spring  and  autumn, 
and  finally  as  between  the  primordial  night  and  the  morning  of 
creation.  These  three  distinct  phases  apply  to  the  sun,  and  are 
distinctly  to  be  traced  in  the  character  of  the  Egyptian  Osiris.  He 
is  the  nocturnal  sun,  the  winter's  sun,  and  the  sun  of  the  original 
night  of  chaos.  His  birth  into  the  light  under  the  form  of  Ra  is 
the  birth  of  humanity  represented  in  the  Adam  of  Genesis.  That 
Yama's  character  included  these  three  phases  admits  of  little  doubt. 
His  mother  is  Saranyu,  the  "  dark  storm  cloud  which  in  the  begin- 
ning of  all  things  soared  in  space."1  This  is  Professor  Roth's  in- 
terpretation of  the  myth  of  Saranyti,  which  appears  to  me  perfectly 
correct,  assimilating  this  "cloud,"  as  he  does,  to  the  primeval 
chaos.  Professor  Miiller  rejects  this  view  also,  but  I  think  without 
sufficient  reason.  The  relation  of  Saranyti  as  mother  of  Yama  is 
precisely  like  that  of  Osiris  to  Ra,  considered  in  their  cosmical 
aspects. 

SEC.  120.  The  three  phases  of  character  appertaining  to  the  sun- 
god,  as  symbolizing  the  life  of  humanity,  correspond  to  the  three 
periods  of:  time  whose  divisions  were  marked  by  the  twelve  signs  of 
the  zodiac,  namely,  the  day,  the  year,  and  the  great  cosmical  year, 
which  opened  at  the  dawn  of  creation.  Aries,  the  Ram,  was  the 
u  lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world."  Taurus,  who  apper- 
tained always  to  the  watery  element,  personifies  the  watery  chaos, 
the  Taurus,  in  fact,  from  whose  purified  seed  springs  a  male  and 
female  taurus,  as  in  Persian  legend,  or  is  killed  by  the  lion  when 
the  sun  reaches  its  highest  exaltation  at  the  summer  solstice.  In 
all  cases  the  life  of  humanity,  history  properly  speaking,  begins 
with  Gemini,  so  that  Aries  and  Taurus,  in  the  Babylonian  scheme, 
appertained  strictly  to  the  creation  week  of  Genesis.  Thus, 
Gemini  as  zodiacal  constellation,  and  As-kar  as  leading  star  of 

1  Vicl.  Lect.  Sci.  Language,  2d  series,  p.  503. 


310 


HAR-MOAD, 


Phoenicia,  whose  assimilation  to  each  other  was  shown  in  the  last 
chapter,  really  represent  the  paradisiacal  man,  the  progenitor  of 
the  human  race. 

2d.  Ungal  and  Noah.  Having  treated  upon  the  first  personage 
in  the  antediluvian  genealogy,  we  proceed  to  consider  the  last,  the 
hero  of  the  deluge,  the  Biblical  Noah.  It  is  not  intended  here  to 
discuss  the  subject  of  the  deluge,  except  in  so  far  as  necessary  to 
establish  the  zodiacal  relation  of  the  hero  of  it  to  the  sign  Pisces. 
The  Hindu  tradition  of  the  deluge,  as  contained  in  the  "  Satapatha 
Brahmana,"  will  be  of  much  service  to  us,  and  not  having  the  Eng- 
lish version  by  Professor  Miiller,  I  present  a  rendering  from  the 
French  of  M.  Lenormant :  — 

4-  One  morning  they  carried  some  water  to  Maim  with  which  to 
bathe  himself,  and  while  in  the  act  of  doing  so  he  discovered  a  fish 
in  his  hands.  It  addressed  him  in  these  words :  4  Protect  me,  and 
I  will  save  yon.'  'From  what  will  you  save  me?'  4A  deluge  is 
about  to  destroy  all  creatures;  it  is  from  this  that  I  will  save  you.' 
4  How  shall  I  protect  you?'  The  fish  replied,  i  While  we  are  small 
we  are  in  great  peril,  because  the  fishes  devour  each  other.  Guard 
me  at  first  in  a  vase.  When  I  shall  become  too  large  for  it,  con- 
struct for  me  a  basin.  When  I  am  become  still  larger,  carry  me  to 
the  ocean.  Then  I  will  preserve  you  from  destruction.'  Soon  lie 
became  a  great  fish,  and  he  said  to  Manu,  '  In  the  year  in  which  I 
shall  attain  my  full  growth  the  deluge  will  take  place.  Construct 
then  a  vessel,  and  adore  me.  When  the  waters  begin  to  overflow, 
enter  into  the  vessel,  and  I  will  save  you.' 

44  After  having  thus  guarded  it,  Manu  carried  the  fish  to  the 
ocean.  In  the  year  indicated  he  constructed  a  vessel,  adored  the 
fish,  and  when  the  deluge  began,  he  entered  into  the  vessel.  As  he 
navigated  the  ship,  the  fish  came  to  him,  and  Manu  attached  the 
cable  of  the  vessel  to  the  horn  of  the  fish,  and  by  this  means  it  was 
made  to  pass  to  the  mountain  of  the  north.  The  fish  then  said  : 
4 1  have  saved  you  ;  attach  the  vessel  to  a  tree,  so  that  the  waters 
may  not  carry  it  away  whilst  you  remain  upon  the  mountain  ;  and 
as  fast  as  the  waters  retire,  descend.'  Manu  descended  with  the 
waters,  whence  it  is  called  'the  descent  of  Manu'  of  the  mountain 
of  the  north.  The  deluge  had  destroyed  all  creatures,  Manu  alone 
being  saved."  l 

M.  Obry  states  on  the  authority  of  M.  Neve  that  the  seven  Devas, 
that  is  to  say,  the  seven  stars  of  the  great  Dipper,  accompanied 
Manu  in  the  vessel ;  and  this  would  constitute  the  typical  number 
1  Premieres  Cicilwatiotis,  ii.  pp.  124,  125. 


THE  TWELVE  STARS   OF   PHCENICIA.  311 

of  eight  persons  saved  in  the  ark.1  M.  Lenormant  sees  in  these 
traditions  the  origin  of  the  notion  of  Saviour  ;  that  is,  he  who  pre- 
serves from  the  destruction  of  the  deluge.  It  is  remarkable  that 
the  god  Hea,  who  appears  as  god  of  the  deluge  in  the  "  Chaldaean 
Account "  rendered  by  Mr.  Smith,  takes  very  often  in  the  texts  the 
title  Salmanu,  "  Saviour,"  which  recalls  the  expression  of  the  fish 
to  Manu :  "  I  have  saved  you."  One  of  the  most  notable  epithets 
of  Hea  in  the  inscriptions  is  "sentient,  or  intelligent  fish."  But 
that  to  be  particularly  considered  in  the  present  connection  is  the 
title  of  Mercury  in  the  sign  Pisces :  ul  kha  an  E-a,  "  star  of  the 
fish  of  the  god  Hea."  It  is  to  this  sign  that  the  star  Ungal,  Assy- 
rian Sar,  "king,"  appertains,  as  shown  in  the  last  chapter.  If  we 
compare  these  facts  with  the  Hindu  legend,  it  will  be  plain  at  once 
that  both  the  Hindu  arid  Chaldsean  traditions  of  the  deluge,  asso- 
ciated with  Manu  and  Hea,  appertain  zodiacally  to  the  sign  Pisces. 
The  matter  is  so  apparent,  in  fact,  as  to  exclude  all  doubt. 

SEC.  121.  Upon  the  subject  of  the  identification  of  the  Biblical 
name  Noah  with  that  of  the  god  Hea,  M.  Lenormant  as  late  as 
1874  published  his  views  as  follows:  — 

"  The  habitual  Assyrian  translation  of  the  Accadian  E-a  in  the 
bilingual  documents  is  bit,  4  house ; '  but  it  is  certainly  not  thus  that 
we  should  read  the  name  of  this  divinity.  I  believe  it  to  be  ne- 
cessary to  select  for  this  reading  a  derivative  of  the  root  Navah,  '  to 
reside,  to  abide ; '  that  is  to  say,  the  word  NuaJi,  Nua,  4  abode,  resi- 
dence,' which  in  some  Assyrian  translations  corresponds  to  the  Ac- 
cadian E-a.  To  the  same  root  appertains  likewise  the  name  Ninua 
(Nineveh),  signifying  equally  *  abode,'  and  which  is  not  only  the 
appellation  of  the  city  of  Nineveh,  but  that  of  a  goddess,  daughter 
of  the  divinity  of  which  we  seek  to  determine  the  name.  Thus,  I 
believe  that  it  is  necessary  to  adhere  to  the  reading  Nuah,  already 
proposed  by  Dr.  Hincks,  but  without  being  able  at  the  time  to  ren- 
der sufficient  proof  for  it.  That  which  fully  determines  me  in 
favor  of  this  readijig  Nuah,  which  is  the  exact  equivalence  in  sense 
of  the  Accadian  E-a,  is  the  part  played  by  the  deity  in  question  in 
the  (Chaldaean)  account  of  the  deluge,  and  the  analogy  of  Nuah 
with  the  Biblical  Noah"  2 

As  I  have  already  intimated,  the  author  has  corrected  himself  to 
some  extent  in  a  more  recent  work.  Not  having  it  in  possession  at 
the  present  writing,  I  am  not  able  to  state  precisely  the  nature  and 

1  Du  Berceau,  etc.,  p.  6. 

3  Prem.  Civilisations,  ii.  pp.  130,  131. 


312  HAR-MOAD. 

effect  of  his  correction,  but  hope  to  present  the  matter  hereafter 
in  the  form  of  a  note.  It  is  to  this  extent,  at  any  rate,  that  the 
Accadian  reading  Hea  has  been  adopted  into  the  Assyrian.1  Mr. 
Smith  has  proceeded  on  this  principle  in  his  rendering  of  the  "  Del- 
uge Tablets,"  and,  as  it  no\v  appears,  was  wholly  justified  in  doing 
so.  But  is  the  reading  Nuah  to  be  abandoned  as  wholly  incorrect? 
Dr.  Hincks  read  Nuah,  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  Nuha,  adopted  by  Mr. 
Norris,  long  before  the  discovery  of  the  "Deluge  Tablets."  It  is 
hardly  possible  that  they  had  not  some  good  reason  for  such  readings, 
both  being  similar  to  the  Biblical  Noah.  The  literal  sense  of  E-a 
is  house  +  water,  "abode  of  the  waters,"  so  striking  a  reference  to 
the  ark  that  it  is  difficult  not  to  admit  here  an  express  intention. 

1  My  recollection  as  expressed  in  the  text  was  correct.  M.  Lenormant  doubts 
the  reading  Nuah  as  the  Assyrian  for  Hea,  and  thinks  that  Dr.  Schrader  and  the 
English  Assyriologues  have  had  reason  for  the  supposition  that  the  Assyrian  re- 
tains the  Accadian  form  of  the  name  (La  Divination,  Paris,  1875,  p.  89,  note  3). 
But  the  identity  of  the  two  personages,  Hea  and  Noah,  is  placed  beyond  doubt  by 
two  important  facts  to  whk-h  the  author  alludes. 

1st.  The  god  Hea  often  takes  the  name  of  Nisroch  in  the  texts,  upon  which  the 
author  observes  :  "  This  enables  us  to  comprehend  how  the  Jewish  tradition  has 
always  associated  the  name  of  Noah  with  that  of  the  Chaldaeo- Assyrian  deity 
Nisroch  —  one  of  the  appellations  of  Nuah  (Hea) — in  a  manner  which  was  till 
now  inexplicable.  'Nisroch,'  said  the  celebrated  Rabbin  Raschi  (Is.  xxxvii.  38), 
*  is  a  plank  from  the  ark  of  Noah.'  "  (La  Magic,  p.  149.) 

2d.  In  reference  to  the  ship  of  Hea,  the  author  again  remarks  :  "  One  of  the 
hymns  of  the  collection  upon  magic  (vid.  4th  Rawl.  PI.  25),  extremely  difficult 
to  comprehend  since  we  have  only  the  Accadian  text  without  an  Assyrian  ver- 
sion, and  since  it  is  full  of  technical  terms  unexplained,  turns  entirely  upon  this 
ship  of  Hea,  ornamented  with  « seven  times  seven  Mons  of  the  desert,'  and  in 
which  Hea  navigates  :  '  Hea,  the  master  of  destinies,  with  his  wife  Davkina, 
whose  vivifying  word,  Silik-Milu-khi,  prophesies  the  favorable  renown  of  Mun- 
abge,  he  who  conducts  the  lord  of  the  earth,  and  Nin-yar,  the  great  pilot  of  hea- 
ven.'" (Ibid.,  pp.  149,  150.) 

These  extracts  prove  not  only  that  Hea  had  an  ark  or  vessel  in  which  he  navi- 
gated the  waters,  but  that,  under  the  name  of  Nisroch,  he  was  identified  with 
Noah  in  Jewish  tradition.  The  assimilation  of  Noah,  therefore,  to  the  sign  Pisces, 
to  which  appertains  the  name,  "fish  of  the  god  Hea,"  must  be  considered  as  a 
settled  point.  The  facts  relating  to  Adam  and  Gemini  on  one  hand,  to  Noah 
and  Pisces  on  the  other,  tend  to  support  each  other.  If  Adam  be  assigned  to 
Gemini,  Noah,  as  the  tenth  from  Adam,  must  be  associated  with  Pisces.  Or,  if  we 
first  determine  Noah's  position  in  Pisces,  this  fixes  Adam's  in  Gemini.  The  two 
series  of  facts  reduplicate  their  force  in  each  other.  I  see  that  Hea  takes  espe- 
cially the  title  of  Nun,  "prince,"  Ungal,  "king,"  in  the  texts;  and  this  confirms 
our  remarks  respecting  the  star  Unyal,  and  its  connection  with  Pisces, 


THE  TWELVE   STARS   OF  PHCENICIA.  318 

Taken  as  the  name  of  a  personage,  it  would  mean  "  he  who  abides 
upon  the  waters,"  an  allusion  to  Noah  so  direct  as  almost  to  force 
us  to  assume  it  as  such. 

For  the  present,  then,  I  am  not  able  to  identify  etymologically, 
either  the  name  As-kar  with  Adam,  or  that  of  Hea  with  Noah. 
But  I  strongly  suspect  such  a  connection  between  As  and  the  He- 
brew Esh  or  Ash  (ttf's),  the  old  form  of  Ish  (ETW),  "man"  defi- 
nitely applied  to  Adam  ;  also  between  Hea,  under  the  form  of  Nuah, 
and  the  Biblical  Noah.  If  As  meant  "  man,"  then  As-kar  denoted 
the  "man  of  Eden,"  or  garden  of  Eden,  for  the  Accadian  Kar, 
"summit,"  with  the  other  value  Gran,  "inclosure,  garden,"  evidently 
contains  a  crystallized  tradition  of  paradise.  But  aside  from  these 
considerations,  it  seems  to  me  the  demonstration  is  complete  that 
zodiacally  the  antediluvian  genealogy  of  Moses  commenced  with  the 
sign  or  constellation  Gemini,  and  terminated  with  Pisces  ;  and  it  fol- 
lows that  the  scheme  of  Genesis  was  different  in  this  respect  from 
that  of  Berosns.  In  the  hieratic  form  of  the  monogram  for  Nine- 
veh, having  the  value  Ninua,  we  have  the  image  of  a  fish  inclosed 
in  a  basin  (Rep.  191).  Compare  with  this  the  fish  in  the  Hindu 
legend  of  the  deluge,  and  the  fish  of  Hea,  the  god  of  the  deluge, 
appertaining  to  the  sign  Pisces.  Compare,  again,  the  account  of 
Jonah's  mission  to  Nineveh,  his  being  three  days  in  the  belly  of  the 
fish,  and  finally  the  Saviour's  allusion  to  this  last  circumstance,  in 
view  of  his  descent  into  Hades,  over  which,  according  to  the  Baby- 
lonian mythology,  the  god  Hea  was  ruler.  Noah  was  a  type  of  the 
Saviour,  the  ark  of  the  church,  and  the  terrestrial  paradise  had  been 
transferred  to  Hades,  as  previously  shown. 

In  relation  to  the  star  Ungal,  or  of  the  king,  it  is  unnecessary  to 
add  much  to  what  was  said  in  the  last  chapter.  I  think  that  the 
hero  of  the  deluge  was  considered  the  king  par  excellence.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Babylonian  system,  this  name  is  assimilated  to  Capricorn  ; 
but  upon  the  hypothesis  assumed  by  us,  it  should  be  connected  with 
Pisces.  But  having  shown  that,  zodiacally  speaking,  the  antedi- 
luvian history  began  with  Gemini,  and  terminated  with  Pisces,  we 
proceed  to  the  examination  in  brief  of  some  of  the  intermediate 
names  and  periods. 

SEC.  122.  3d.  Sir  and  Seth.  The  Accadian  Sir  signifies  "ser- 
pent ; "  as  a  star  of  Phoenicia,  and  as  shown  in  the  last  chapter,  it 
falls  in  the  sign  Cancer,  which  is  the  next  after  Gemini:.  It  is  per- 


314 


HAR-MOAD. 


fectly  obvious,  according  to  my  view,  that  we  have  here  an  express 
allusion  to  the  serpent  of  Eden.  If  Gemini  and  As-kar  represent 
the  paradisiacal  man,  then  Cancer  and  Sir  denote  man  after  having 
fallen  under  the  destructive  wiles  of  the  serpent.  The  Hebrew 
term  denoting  the  serpent  of  Eden  is  Na-khash  (trnj),  and  it  is 
well  understood  by  Hebraists  that  astronomically  it  relates  to  the 
constellation  Draco,  or  the  Dragon,  coiled  around  the  north  celestial 
pole,  the  very  region,  as  we  have  seen,  associated  in  tradition  with 
the  mount  of  paradise.  But  this  is,  so  to  speak,  the  cosmical  ser- 
pent, appertaining  to  the  sun's  course,  as  symbol  of  the  life  of  hu- 
manity during  the  great  cosmical  year,  already  explained.  The 
serpent  that  appertains  to  the  sun's  annual  course,  equally  a  symbol 
of  human  life,  is  the  constellation  Hydra,  and  this  corresponds  well 
to  the  sign  Cancer.  Finally,  the  sun  in  its  daily  course  encounters 
a  like  enemy,  the  constellation  Serpens,  the  Ophiuchus,  often  sub- 
stituted for  Scorpio,  to  which  Jacob  compared  Dan:  "Dan  shall  be 
a  serpent  (Heb.  Na-khash)  by  the  way"  (Gen.  xlix.  17).  In  each 
of  these  three  phases  of  the  sun's  course,  of  which,  as  before  ob- 
served, the  twelve  signs  mark  the  twelve  divisions,  this  luminary 
encounters  an  enemy  in  its  path,  almost  at  the  opening  of  its  career. 
Thrice  repeated,  therefore,  is  the  starry  record  of  those  primitive 
traditions  that  relate  to  the  temptation  and  fall.  It  is  hardly  ne- 
cessary to  insist  here,  in  view  of  the  facts  previously  placed  before 
the  reader,  that  these  traditions  are  not  purely  astronomical.  The 
sun's  course  was  taken  as  a  type  of  human  existence ;  the  fact  is 
evinced  by  numberless  expressions  that  might  be  gleaned  from  the 
sacred  writings  of  antiquity;  and  it  is  this  very  fact,  all  important 
to  be  considered,  which  affords  the  true  standpoint  for  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  ancient  legends  relating  to  the  death  and  resurrec- 
tion of  the  sun-god. 

The  Assyrian  name  of  the  month  answering  to  Cancer  is  Du-u-zu, 
for  which  the  Hebrew  nomenclature  substitutes  Tammuz,  name  of 
the  Syrian  Adonis,  the  sun-god  who  suffers  a  violent  and  untimely 
death.  All  these  names  refer  to  one  and  the  same  personage,  to 
which  similar  ideas  were  attached  in  each  case.  The  cuneiform 
Tur-zi,  "  son  of  life,"  and  apparently  Tam-zi,  "  sun  of  life,"  are  to 
be  added  to  the  list  of  expressions  involving  the  same  conceptions. 
In*Tnr-zi,  "son  of  life,"  it  is  possible  to  see  an  allusion  to  Abel, 
son  of  Eve?"  mother  of  all  living,"  since  the  name  Eve  is  derived 


THE  TWELVE  STARS   OF  PHCENICIA.  315 

from  a  word  signifying  "  life,"  like  the  Accadian  Zi.  It  is  not  only 
possible,  but  quite  probable,  I  think,  that  such  a  traditional  refer- 
ence was  intended.  The  death  of  Abel  seems  to  have  given  to  his 
name,  in  all  antiquity,  the  significance  of  the  beloved  son,  who 
meets  with  a  violent  and  untimely  death.  It  is  not  without  especial 
meaning,  as  it  appears  to  me,  that  the  name  of  Mercury  correspond- 
ing to  the  sign  Cancer  and  thus  to  the  star  /Sir,  or  of  the  Serpent, 
is  Da-pi-nu,  a  title  interpreted  by  M.  Lenormant  as  signifying  "  pro- 
tector, covering,"  similar  thus  to  the  notion  of  a  protection,  cover- 
ing, a  hiding-place  from  sin,  the  consequences  of  the  fall.1  This 
title  is  frequently  applied  to  other  divinities  as  protectors,  but  it  is 
the  especial  title  of  Mercury  as  he  attends  the  sun  in  the  sign 
Cancer,  corresponding  to  the  month  in  which  the  sun-god  dies  by 
violence. 

In  consequence  of  the  substitution  of  Seth  for  Cain,  in  the  line  of 
Adam's  posterity,  he  occupies  the  second  place  in  the  antediluvian 
genealogy,  and,  according  to  our  theory  of  adjustments,  must  be 
assimilated  to  the  sign  Cancer.  Considering  all  the  circumstances, 
the  idea  of  a  substitution  here  is  very  remarkable.  The  serpent, 
the  temptation  and  fall,  tha  promised  seed  that  should  bruise  the 
serpent's  head,  the  death  of  Abel  as  type  of  %  the  great  sacrifice,  em- 
bodied in  the  legends  of  the  dying  sun-god,  the  conception  of  a 
covering,  a  substitution  for  sin, — all  these  ideas  seem  to  centre  in 
this  one  .zodiacal  division,  receiving  double  significance  from  the 
coincidences  that  have  developed  themselves  so  unexpectedly  under 
our  hands.  It  is  difficult  to  admit  all  these  implications,  yet  the 
simple  facts  appear  forcibly  to  suggest  them,  and  we  shall  find 
hereafter  nearly  the  same  circle  of  ideas  grouped  around  the  sign 
Scorpio,  as  well  as  the  extra-zodiacal  constellation  Draco.  In  such 
case  a  conscious  design  in  each  instance  cannot  well  be  denied.  If, 
then,  the  star  As-Jcar  and  the  sign  Gemini  marked  the  period  of 
the  paradisiacal  man,  the  star  Sir  and  the  sign  Cancer  embodied 
all  those  traditions  relating  to  the  fall,  the  promise,  and  the  events 
immediately  succeeding  the  expulsion  from  Eden. 

SEC.  123.  4th.  Bar-t  abba-gal  gal  and  JZnos.  The  expression  gal- 
gal  is  a  simple  reduplication  of  the  Accadian  (raZ,  Assyrian  Rah, 
"great,"  its  repetition  having  the  sense  of  "very  great,"  or  the 
superlative  *f  greatest."  Respecting  the  other  elements  in  the  name 

1  Vid.  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  251,  for  M.  Lenormant's  definition  of  du-pi-nu. 


316 


HAR-MOAD. 


of  this  asterism,  we  have  a  bilingual  phrase  in  which  the  god  Bar- 
tabba  is  explained  by  the  Assyrian  llu  Kilalin,  the  last  term  being 
defined  "  wholly,"  or  "  entire,"  by  Mr.  Norris.1  The  god  Bartabba 
is  thus  the  god  u  wholly  divine,"  and  the  very  great  Bartabba  is  the 
"  divinity  supreme,  highly  exalted,  all-powerful."  All  this  applies 
with  great  force  to  the  sun-god  in  his  supposed  extreme  exaltation 
in  the  sign  Leo,  when  the  power  of  his  rays  is  greatest.  It  calls  to 
mind  the  expression  "  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Juda,"  applied  by  the 
Revelator  (Rev.  v.  5)  to  the  Hebrew  Yahveh,  or  Jehovah,  in  his 
manifestation  in  the  Saviour.  As  appears  from  a  remark  by  Rev. 
A.  H.  Sayce,  Dr.  Oppert  considers  the  stars  Bar-tabba-galgal  and 
Bar-tabba-dudu  as  epithets  of  the  sun,  in  the  two  senses  of  u  doubly 
great "  and  "  doubly  little,"  thus  referring  doubtless  to  its  greatest 
power  at  mid-summer  and  its  least  power  in  mid-winter.2  The  sign 
of  the  Lion,  then,  symbolizes  the  sun  in  its  supreme  energy  and 
force.  If  Gemini  be  put  for  the  solar  twins,  Cancer  represents  the 
death  of  the  twin  sun  by  fratricidal  hands.  The  Lion,  then,  typi- 
fies his  resurrection  and  triumph  over  his  last  enemy,  and  the  name 
of  the  fifth  Arabian  Lunar  Mansion  designates  the  power  by  which 
he  was  raised.  This  "  Arabic  title  is  Dhira,  'the  paw,'  that  is,  of 
the  Lion,  which  the  Arab  astronomers  stretch  out  over  a  much 
larger  region  of  the  sky  than  he  occupies  with  us."  3 

The  name  Enos  (Heb.  ttfta.^),  applied  to  the  son  of  Seth,  is  only 
another  form  of  Ish,  signifying  "  man,"  from  which  is  Ishah, 
"  woman."  According  to  the  theory  of  some  exegetes,  Eve  sup- 
posed that  her  first-born,  Cain,  was  the  promised  one,  or  he  who 
should  remedy  the  sad  consequences  of  the  fall,  bruising  the  ser- 
pent's head.  Hence,  on  the  birth  of  Cain  she  exclaimed,  "  I  have 
gotten  a  man,  even  Yahveh"  this  being  considered  the  literal  sense 
of  the  phrase,  "  I  have  gotten  a  man  from  the  Lord."  Yahveh  was 
supposed  to  be  the  promised  one,  he  who  should  come,  the  deliverer. 
The  second  occurrence  of  the  divine  name  Yahveh  in  the  Scriptures 
is  in  the  singular  expression  connected  with  the  name  of  Enos  : 
"Then  began  men.  to  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord"  (Gen.  iv. 
26).  The  original  has  Sam-Yahveh.  Much  uncertainty  exists  as  to 
the  literal  sense  to  be  attached  to  the  language  quoted.  Under  any 

1  3d  Rawl.  PL  68,  No.  2, 1.  68.     Cf.  Norris,  ii.  p.  558. 

2  Trans.  Bib.  Arch.  So.  Lond.,  iii.  p.  167. 

8  Professor  Whitney,  Orient,  and  Ling.  Studies,  2d  series,  p.  352. 


THE  TWELVE  STARS  OF  PHOENICIA.  317 

circumstances  we  show  a  direct  association  of  ideas  as  connected 
with  the  sign  Leo,  the  star  Bar-tabba-yalgal,  the  names  Enos  and 
Yahveh,  and  the  "  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Juda." 

5th.  Ninmakh  and  Cainan.  The  star  Ninmakh  is  Venus,  and 
corresponds  to  the  sign  Virgo,  or  the  Virgin.  The  name  Cainan 
(Heb.  1^1?.)  signifies  "  a  smith,"  and  is  equivalent  to  Cain  (Heb.  TI"?), 
according  to  Dr.  Fiirst,  hence  denotes  kt  a  lance,  spear,  originally 
that  which  is  pointed."  It  is  the  name  of  a  male  personage,  while 
Ninmakh  denotes  a  female  character,  the  goddess  Venus.  At  first 
view  there  appears  here  an  insuperable  objection  to  our  general 
theory  respecting  a  zodiacal  arrangement  of  the  antediluvian  gene- 
alogy. But  underlying  it  there  will  be  found  an  actual  confirma- 
tion. Cainan,  as  just  observed,  is  equivalent  to  Cain,  signifying  on 
one  hand  a  lance,  spear,  arrow,  or  anything  pointed,  as  a  weapon  of 
war ;  on  the  other  hand  denoting  a  possession,  he  who  was  gotten, 
referring  to  the  expression  of  Eve,  "  I  have  gotten  a  man,"  etc.,  on 
the  birth  of  Cain.  There  is  a  double  reference  involved,  therefore, 
to  the  great  mother  and  to  war,  the  weapons  of  war.  Now  Ishtar 
assimilated  to  Virgo  was  both  the  great  mother  and  the  war  god- 
dess, represented  as  an  archeress.  M.  Lenormant  observes :  — 

"  The  sixth  month  is  called  4  the  month  of  the  message  of  Ishtar,' 
and  a  passage  of  the  prism  of  Assurbanipal  formally  attests  that 
the  archeress  became  for  us  the  virgin,  who  corresponds  to  this 
month  in  the  zodiac,  and  is  no  other  than  Ishtar."  1 

The  connection  of  the  bow  and  arrow  with  the  very  name  Cainan 
is  very  direct.  In  addition  to  this  we  have  seen  in  a  previous  study 
that,  under  the  title  of  Athtar,  Venus  was  worshiped  in  Arabia  as 
a  male  personage,  or  at  least  as  an  androgynous  divinity;  and  fur- 
thermore, as  war  goddess,  Ishtar  certainly  assumes  a  male  character. 
Thus,  the  analogy  of  ideas  is  very  striking  in  this  instance,  while 
the  difference  in  sex  offers  no  serious  objection  when  all  the  facts 
are  considered.  It  amounts,  in  fact,  to  no  difference. 

SEC.  124.  6th.  Nibe-anu  and  Mahalaleel.  Libra  is  here  the  cor- 
responding zodiacal  division.  The  star  Nibe-anu  is  supposed  to  be 
the  planet  Mars,  who  had  his  domicile  in  Aries  and  Scorpio.  But 
primitively  the  pincers  or  claws  of  Scorpio  covered  the  entire  zodi- 
acal space  now  occupied  by  Libra.  It  was  shown  in  a  former  study 
that  the  Egyptians  figured  a  solar  mountain  in  Libra,  associated 
1  Prem.  Civilisations,  ii.  p.  73. 


318  HAR-MOAD. 

with  the  mother  goddess  and  her  child  on  one  hand,  and  on  the 
other  with  the  god  Turn.  The  personage  last  indicated,  although 
conceived  as  male  by  the  Egyptians,  appertained  to  the  lower  hem- 
isphere, and  it  is  only  natural,  therefore,  that  the  same  personage 
becomes  female  in  the  cuneiform  texts.  We  have  previously  cited 
the  phrase  in  which  the  sublime  mountain  of  Turn  is  said  to  be 
Ishtar,  calling  to  mind  the  Vedic  Ida  definitely  associated  with  Mt. 
Meru.  The  Accadian  name  of  the  month  answering  to  Libra  is 
Tul-M,  which  I  interpret  "  sublime  mountain."  Thus,  everything 
indicates  a  specific  design  on  the  part  of  both  the  Egyptians  and 
Chaldaeans  to  locate  zodiacally  the  traditional  mount  of  paradise  in 
Libra,  considered  accordingly  as  in  the  east.  Of  this  sacred  moun- 
tain, as  we  have  shown,  the  temples  were  conceived  as  imitations  or 
artificial  reproductions.  These  remarks  now  will  help  to  reveal  a 
definite  relation  of  Mahalaleel  to  the  zodiacal  Libra.  The  meaning 
of  this  patriarchal  name  is  "  praise  of  God."  The  Assyrian  name 
of  the  month  corresponding  to  Libra  is  Tas-ri-tu,  which  Rev.  A.  H. 
Sayce  explains  thus :  "  Tasritu  or  Tisri  is  a  tiphel  form  of  Esritu,  a 
4  sanctuary.' "  l  The  connection,  then,  between  Mahalaleel  and  this 
zodiacal  sign  is  that  between  "  praise  of  God  "  and  "  sanctuary," 
which  is,  of  course,  sufficiently  direct  and  striking. 

7th.  Nammakh  and  Jared.  We  have  seen  that  according  to 
uniform  tradition  the  diluvian  mountain  was  the  same  as  that  of 
paradise.  It  has  been  seen  also  that  this  sacred  mount  was  located 
zodiacally  in  the  sign  Libra.  In  Hindu  tradition,  as  shown  from 
the  legend  of  the  deluge  already  quoted  in  this  chapter,  the  mount 
of  the  deluge  was  called  the  "  descent  of  Manu,"  and  it  seems  that  a 
precisely  similar  notion  had  been  localized  in  the  vicinity  of  Ararat 
in  Armenia.  The  diluvian  mount  of  the  east  was  thus  the  "  mount 
of  the  descent."  Zodiacally  speaking  this  idea  had  been  associated 
with  the  sun,  which  makes  its  descent  from  the  solar  mount  located 
in  Libra  as  it  passes  from  the  superior  ilito  the  lower  hemisphere. 
This  descent  takes  place  definitely  when  the  sun  passes  from  Libra 
into  Scorpio.  These  remarks  will  suffice  to  illustrate  the  connec- 
tion between  Scorpio  and  the  patriarchal  name  Jared,  — it  signifies 
literally  "  the  descent,"  or  "  he  who  descends."  Two  facts  appear 
to  conflict  with  the  explanation  here  offered.  First,  Jared  is  in  no 
way  associated  traditionally  with  the  deluge.  Secondly,  we  have 

1  Trans.  Bib.  Arch.  So.,  iii.  p.  163. 


THE  TWELVE   STARS  OF  PHOENICIA.  319 

seen  that  really  the  hero  of  the  deluge  was  definitely  connected 
with  the  sign  Pisces.  These  circumstances  admit  of  an  explanation 
in  harmony  with  our  theory  of  adjustments,  but  certain  very  impor- 
tant principles  are  involved  in  the  matter  which  cannot  well  be  set 
forth  at  present,  and  we  must  await  further  developments  in  these 
researches.  It  will  suffice  to  say  now  that  everything  in  this  case 
is  subordinate  to  the  sun's  annual  course  as  representative  of  hu- 
man life.  Annually  the  sun  makes  its  descent  in  passing  from 
Libra  into  Scorpio,  but  cosmically  it  would  be  different,  —  a  matter 
that  we  are  not  yet  in  condition  to  explain.  We  shall  return  to 
it,  however,  in  a  future  chapter.  The  connection  of  the  star  Nam- 
makh,  or  "  great  destiny,"  with  Scorpio  has  been  already  sufficiently 
set  forth. 

8th.  Sugi  and  Enoch.  We  labor  under  the  same  disability  here 
as  in  relation  to  Jared.  Certain  principles  are  yet  to  be  established 
before  the  significance  of  Enoch's  assimilation  to  the  sign  Sagitta- 
rius can  be  realized.  Enoch,  as  previously  shown,  is  a  name  that 
signifies  "the  initiated."  The  name  Sugi  means  "  a  rival,"  accord- 
ing to  Dr.  Delitzsch.1  The  rivalry  here  is  between  Gemini  and 
Sagittarius,  placed  in  opposition  on  the  sphere.  II  is  otherwise  a 
rivalry  between  the  twins,  like  that  of  Jacob  and  Esau,  Cain  and 
Abel,  etc.  This  was  one  of  the  subjects  pertaining  to  the  ancient 
mysteries,  and  hence  the  connection  of  Enoch,  "  the  initiated,"  with 
this  zodiacal  sign.  The  sun  in  the  upper  hemisphere,  particularly 
in  Gemini,  was  one  of  the  solar  twins,  and  in  the  lower  hemisphere, 
in  Sagittarius,  the  other  solar  twin.  They  were  placed  in  opposi- 
tion, in  rivalry.  Confirmatory  facts  and  additional  explanations 
relative  to  these  points  will  be  hereafter  submitted. 

SEC.  125.  9th.  Qaqsidi  and  Methuselah.  The  proposed  assimila- 
tion of  these  names  is  to  the  sign  Capricorn.  The  star  Qaqsidi,  as 
before  shown,  is  to  be  identified  with  the  Southern  Dog,  which 
anciently  marked  the  extreme  limits  of  the  sun's  course  in  the 
lower  hemisphere  at  the  period  of  the  winter  solstice,  when  the 
solar  power  becomes  almost  completely  exhausted.  This  is,  in  fact, 
the  old  sun  conceived  by  the  ancients  as  a  man  bowed  down  with 
extreme  age,  who  goes  to  renew  his  life  in  the  dark  waters  of  death.2 
At  other  times  the  sun  at  this  period  was  likened  to  a  man  afflicted 

1  Vid.  Assyr.  Studien,  H.  i.,  pp.  120,  121. 

2  Vid.  Brugsdh,  Materiaux,  etc.,  pp.  44,  45. 


320 


HAR-MOAD. 


with  leprosy,  who  goes  to  bathe  in  these  waters  to  renew  his  health. 
The  name  Methuselah  signifies  "  man  of  the  dart,  or  sword,  a  war- 
rior." This,  according  to  Hebrew  lexicography.  Professor  Bush 
remarks  on  the  authority  of  the  marginal  reading:  "The  import  of 
this  name  in  the  original  is  4  He  dieth,  and  the  sending  forth,'  as  if 
it  were  an  intimation  of  the  sending  forth  of  the  waters  of  the  del- 
uge" (Notes,  Gen.  v.  21).  According  to  the  well  considered  opin- 
ions of  M.  Lenormant,  Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce,  and  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson, 
the  "Izdhubar  or  Deluge  Tablets "  discovered  and  translated  by 
Mr.  George  Smith,  consisting  originally  of  the  number  twelve,  are 
definitely  to  be  connected  with  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac.  Mr. 
Smith  himself  rejects  this  view,  but  it  is  probable  that  very  few 
Assyriologues  could  be  found  to  agree  with  him.  In  the  system  of 
the  Izdhubar  series,  tlie  hero  of  the  deluge  appertains  to  the  sign 
Aquarius,  and  his  father  Ubara-tutu  to  Capricorn,  to  which  also  we 
have  assigned  Methuselah.  In  M.  Lenormant's  view,  Ubara-tutu 
represents  the  old  sun,  and  I  think  that  Methuselah  as  the  oldest 
man  is  to  be  regarded  in  the  same  light.  For  the  rest,  it  will  be 
convenient  to  introduce  M.  Lenormant's  own  language  :  — 

"  The  moment  when  the  sun  commences  to  renew  its  force,  and 
enters  upon  its  ascending  path,  the  moment  when  it  is  cured  of  its 
annual  malady,  and  the  fear  of  death,  is  precisely  the  eleventh 
month  (Aquarius)  of  the  Chaldaeo- Assyrian  year,  the  month  follow- 
ing that  of  the  solstice  of  winter  (Capricorn).  Such  being  the  case, 
the  culminating  epoch  of  decadence,  and  of  the  leprosy  of  the  igne- 
ous and  solar  deity,  ought  to  be  in  the  preceding  month,  or  at  tlie 
solstice.  It  thus  appears  in  the  poem.  The  symbolic  malady  of  Iz- 
dhubar, who  undertakes  a  voyage  in  search  of  Sisithros,  appertains 
to  the  tenth  tablet  (and  sign).  At  the  same  time,  in  the  Accadian 
names  of  the  months  the  tenth  is  called  4  the  month  of  the  spot 
(leprosy)  of  the  declining  sun.'  "  l 

Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce  remarks :  "  The  tenth  month  is  termed  abba 
uddi,  or  abba  uddu,  the  meaning  of  which  is  difficult  to  determine. 
Abba  signifies  4  father,' also  '  old '  and  'hollow/  and  in  the  latter 
sense  is  joined  with  a,  '  water,'  to  denote  the  sea."  2  In  relation  to 
Ubara-tutu,  M.  Lenormant  again  remarks :  — 

"  That  the  name  of  the  father  of  Sisithros,  in  the  cuneiform  docu- 
ments, Ubara-tutu,  a  name  taken  from  the  Accadian  tongue,  signi- 

1  Prem.  Civil.,  ii.  pp.  77,  78. 

3  Trans.  Bib.  Arch.  So.,  iii.  p.  164. 


THE  TWELVE   STARS  OF  PHOENICIA.  321 

fies  '  the  golden  splendor  of  the  setting  sun,'  and  that  the  name  of 
the  father  of  Enoch,  in  the  Bible,  Yirad  (Jared  in  the  Vulgate), 
signifies  '  descent,  setting.'  The  Babylonian  tradition  unites  with 
the  personage  Sisithros  the  facts  which  the  Bible  distributes  be- 
tween Enoch  and  Noah,  and  the  name  of  the  father  of  Enoch  cor- 
responds in  Hebrew,  in  its  signification  (of  'descent'),  to  that  of 
the  father  of  Sisithros  in  Accadian."  1 

According  to  the  Babylonian  tradition,  Sisithros  (Noah)  is  trans- 
lated. Hence,  in  accord  with  the  same  scheme  the  father  of  Sisi- 
thros has  a  name  signifying  "  descent,"  the  same  as  that  of  Jared, 
father  of  Enoch.  There  is  confusion  in  the  Babylonian  scheme ; 
the  Mosaic  is  consistent  throughout,  and  our  theory  of  adjustments 
will  help  to  bring  order  out  of  chaos. 

(a)  Izdhubar,  whose  name  signifies  "  mass  of  fire,"  is  the  sun- 
god.  His  resemblance  to  Nimrod  arises  from  the  fact  that  the  latter 
was  taken  for  the  sun-god,  also,  both  being  war-gods  likewise,  as 
were  nearly  all  the  solar  deities.  In  the  character  of  warrior  both 
corresponded  exactly  to  Methuselah,  "  man  of  the  sword,  warrior." 

(5)  In  the  tenth  sign,  or  Capricorn,  the  sun  either  contracts  a 
fatal  malady,  like  that  of  Izdhubar,  and  as  denoted  by  the  Accadian 
name  of  the  corresponding  month,  or  attains  an  extreme  old  age, 
like  Methuselah,  and  finally  dies  at  the  winter  solstice,  to  be  re- 
newed under  the  form  of  a  little  child,  as  held  by  the  Egyptians.2 
It  is  amid  the  waters  of  the  deluge,  answering  to  Aquarius,  that  the 
sun  renews  his  health,  or  attains  a  renewed  life.  Methuselah  dies 
at  the  going  forth  of  the  waters. 

(c)  The  exact  analogy  exhibited  here  between  the  ideas  con- 
nected with  Methuselah  on  one  side,  and  the  legendary  conceptions 
centring  in  the  sign  Capricorn  on  the  other,  seems  to  me  fully  con- 
clusive as  to  the  soundness  of  our  theory  of  adjustments  for  the 
Mosaic  genealogy. 

SEC.  126.  10th.  Bir  and  Lamech.  The  anonymous  author  of 
"  Palmoni,"  on  the  authority  of  Dr.  Ewald's  researches,  has  the  fol- 
lowing :  "  Lamech  means  '  the  destroyer.'  The  connection  of  this 
name  with  the  introduction  of  wickedness,  and  the  superinduction 
of  the  condemnation  of  the  world,  has  been  shown  "  (p.  73).  The 
Accadian  Bir  has  the  sense  of  "  to  crumble,  to  fall  in  ruins,  ruin  " 

1  Op.  cit.,  pp.  59,  60. 

2  Vid.  Brugsch,  Mate'riaux,  etc.,  p.  9, 


322 


HAR-MOAD. 


(Rep.  441).  Both  the  star  Bir  and  patriarch  Lamech  appertain  to 
the  sign  Aquarius.  This  zodiacal  division  properly  represents  the 
destructive  period  of  the  deluge,  when  the  old  world  fell  to  ruins. 
As  Noah  was  saved  from  this  catastrophe,  being  preserved  to  renew 
the  period  of  human  existence,  he  is  naturally  assimilated  to  the 
sign  following,  or  to  Pisces.  The  correspondence  of  ideas  associated 
with  the  names  Lamech  and  Bir  and  with  the  sign  Aquarius  could 
hardly  be  more  direct  and  perfect,  and  it  adds  another  powerful 
support  to  the  general  hypothesis  with  which  we  have  been  occu- 
pied in  the  present  chapter. 

The  evidences  tending  to  connect  the  beginning  and  the  end  of 
the  Mosaic  genealogy  of  the  antediluvian  period  with  the  signs 
Gemini  and  Pisces  respectively  were  seen  to  be  of  a  nature  very 
difficult  to  set  aside,  and  almost  to  force  conviction.1  But  the  ques- 
tion would  naturally  arise,  notwithstanding,  whether  an  attempt  to 
associate  the  other  names  .of  the  list,  according  to  the  same  scheme, 
with  their  respective  zodiacal  divisions,  would  not  be  attended  with 
so  many  obstacles  and  develop  so  many  objections  as  actually  to 
counterbalance  the  force  of  facts  previously  presented.  It  seemed 
proper,  therefore,  that  we  should  make  such  an  attempt,  and  the 
reader  is  now  aware  of  the  result.  We  have  encountered  no  serious 
obstacle,  and  on  the  other  side  have  discovered  much  additional 
proof.  The  evidences  have  not  only  been  cumulative  in  their 
nature,  but  they  have  almost  constantly  multiplied  upon  our  hands. 
According  to  all  the  principles  of  induction,  it  seems  to  me  the 
hypothesis  assumed  ought  to  be  considered  as  established. 

As  before  observed,  it  is  perfectly  plain  that  the  Babylonian  ad- 
justment of  the  ten  antediluvian  kings  to  the  signs  of  the  zodiac 
was  radically  different  from  that  of  the  Mosaic  genealogy.  The 
inference  is  thus  quite  natural,  that  the  two  schemes  appertained 
to  different,  or  at  least  independent,  traditions  respecting  the  period 
before  the  deluge.  Under  any  circumstances  the  fundamental  dif- 
ference here  shown  to  exist  is  of  great  importance  to  the  Biblical 
critic.  It  places  such  critic  on  an  independent  footing  so  far  as 
concerns  the  Babylonian  traditions,  an  object  very  desirable  to  be 

1  In  point  of  fact,  although  the  identity  of  names  still  remains  in  some  doubt, 
the  absolute  identity  of  personages,  that  is,  of  As-kar  with  Adam,  and  of  Hea  with 
Noah,  and  their  assimilation  to  the  zodiacal  Gemini  and  Pisces,  is  a  matter  placed 
beyond  all  doubt  by  the  data  submitted, 


THE  TWELVE  STARS  OF  PHOENICIA.  323 

attained,  I  think,  in  view  of  the  tendency  of  recent  discoveries  to 
make  Babylon  the  exclusive  source  of  the  Mosaic  history  pertain- 
ing to  the  primitive  ages.  These  discoveries,  properly  interpreted, 
afford  important  confirmations  of  the  Hebrew  narrative  ;  but  it  is 
well  to  be  assured  of  the  fact  that  the  Hebrews  were  not  necessarily 
indebted  to  the  Babylonians  for  the  Book  of  Genesis. 

The  question  of  the  chronological  succession  of  these  genealogies, 
in  view  of  the  facts  now  before  us,  still  forces  itself  upon  our  con- 
sideration. Were  they  not  purely  zodiacal,  having  no  historical 
basis  ?  That  they  were  supposed  to  be  chronological,  that  the  cos- 
mical  year  was  regarded  as  a  genuine  time  period,  and  thus  in  some 
sense  historical,  does  not,  in  my  mind,  admit  of  serious  doubts.  It 
is  not  necessary  that  the  cosmical  year  be  scientifically  accurate. 
It  was  supposed  to  be  and  was  practically  thus  assumed.  Did  this 
cosmical  year  correspond  to  the  precession,  or  retrograde  movement, 
of  the  equinoctial  points  on  the  ecliptic,  comprehending  about 
twenty-five  thousand  years  in  each  revolution  ?  Such  should  have 
been  the  nature  of  it  in  order  to  give  it  a  scientific  character,  and 
possibly  it  was  so  designed.  But  the  reigns  of  the  kings  before  the 
deluge,  according  to  Babylonian  estimates,  had  no  correspondence 
with  the  period  of  precession  appropriate  to  each  sign.  This  would 
be  about  two  thousand  years  to  each  of  the  ten  kings,  or  some 
twenty  thousand  in  the  aggregate.  On  the  one  hand,  the  reigns  of 
these  kings  were  supposed  to  be  far  greater,  and  on  the  other  it  will 
not  be  difficult  for  us  to  show  that  actually  the  astronomical  period 
to  which  the  earliest  traditions  pertained  was  much  less  than  twenty 
thousand  years,  even  reckoning  from  the  present  time.  There  was, 
then,  so  far  as  we  know,  nothing  of  scientific  chronology  in  the 
assumed  cosmical  year,  nor  in  the  assimilation  of  these  kings  to  the 
zodiacal  signs.  But,  as  before  remarked,  everything  seems  to  have 
been  assumed  as  correct.  For  the  rest,  it  will  be  necessary  for  us 
to  attain  some  fixed  standard  date  in  high  antiquity  before  we  can 
treat  this  matter  intelligently,  and  this  is  the  ultimate  result  to 
which  these  investigations  are  directed. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   CHERUBIM. 

SEC.  127.  The  reader  is  requested  now  to  turn  to  the  transcrip- 
tion of  the  tablet  upon  which  we  have  been  so  long  engaged,  as 
given  in  the  113th  section,  and  to  recall  the  explanations  there 
submitted.  In  the  second  column  of  months,  the  seventh  line,  we 
have  the  Accadian  phrase,  Ab  Gut  Mat  llama-ki,  or  "  the  month 
of  the  Taurus,  the  country  of  llama,"  the  Biblical  Elam,  modern 
Susiana.  Following  this  equation  of  the  month  of  the  Taurus  to 
llama,  in  the  eighth  line,  is  the  phrase  Ab  Martu-ki,  "  the  month 
of  the  west,"  or  Phoenicia ;  but  what  particular  month  is  intended 
is  not  here  indicated.  Still  below  these,  in  the  ninth  line, 
we  have  the  name  of  the  country  Gu-ti-i,  or  Gutium,  to  which 
obviously  some  month  had  been  assigned  by  the  scribe,  but  the 
name  of  it  is  entirely  defaced.  The  reader  sees  in  the  extract 
from  M.  Lenormant  (Sec.  108),  that  in  the  symbolical  system  of 
geography  of  which  Akkad  formed  the  centre,  and  of  which  this 
tablet  constituted  an  exposition,  the  country  of  llama  was  put  for 
the  east,  Martu  for  the  west,  Gutium  for  the  north,  and  Subarti  the 
south.  It  is  obvious  that  to  each  of  these  four  countries  a  special 
month  was  assigned,  or  rather  a  particular  zodiacal  constellation. 
To  llama,  put  for  the  east,  we  know  from  the  phrase  just  cited 
that  the  Taurus  was  assimilated.  Beyond  this,  we  are  left  almost 
wholly  to  conjecture,  owing  to  the  mutilated  condition  of  the  pub- 
lished text.  It  is  true  that  Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce  has  undertaken  to 
complete  the  scheme,  assigning  Aries  to  Akkad,  Taurus  to  Elam, 
Cancer  to  Martu,  the  west,  or  Phoenicia,  Virgo  to  Gutium,  without 
suggesting  any  equation  for  Subarti,  representing  the  south.1  So 
far  as  concerns  the  published  text  I  am  unable  to  find  any  suffi- 
cient basis  for  this  scheme,  and  am  persuaded  that  it  is  erroneous 
1  Trans.  Bib.  Arch.  Society,  London,  vol.  iii.  p.  172,  and  note  2. 


THE  TWELVE   STARS  OF  PHCENICIA.  325 

in  respect  to  some  of  its  proposed  assimilations.  The  principle 
established  in  the  113th  section,  namely,  that  in  the  published  text 
the  second  column  of  months  offers  an  adjustment  of  the  second 
column  of  stars  to  the  ordinary  Babylonian  calendar,  this  principle, 
I  say,  enables  us  to  assume  with  safety  that  Mat  llama-ki  has  for 
its  asterism  the  "  star  Al-lab"  which  is  thus  shown  to  be  one  with 
Alap,  or  the  Taurus ;  and  again  that  Mar-tu-ki  is  presided  over  by 
the  "  star  Lul-a"  or  Lab-a,  as  I  prefer  to  read  the  name.  This 
must  be  Aries,  the  Ram  :  1st.  Since  some  animal  is  denoted  by  this 
name,  as  shown  by  Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce  in  the  place  just  cited ;  2d. 
For  the  reason  that  all  the  other  stars  have  been  already  adjusted 
to  the  zodiac,  leaving  only  the  star  Lab-a  for  the  sign  Aries.  In 
such  case  Aries  is  put  for  Mar-tu-ki,  the  west,  just  as  Taurus  is  put 
for  llama-ki  and  the  east.  The  two  zodiacal  divisions  are  assigned 
to  exactly  opposite  points  of  the  compass,  east  and  west,  although 
normally  they  follow  each  other  in  the  zodiac.  This  one  fact 
proves  a  mystical  intent  on  the  part  of  the  scribe,  which  we  have 
now  to  study. 

The  fact  has  been  heretofore  sufficiently  verified  that  the  sym- 
bolical geography  of  Sargon  the  ancient,  of  which  scheme  the  coun- 
try of  Akkad  formed  the  centre,  had  been  a  traditional  inheritance 
from  the  sacred  mount  of  the  northeast,  the  Gan-Eden  of  Genesis. 
Such  being  the  case,  Akkad  replaces  in  this  system  the  sacred  mount 
itself,  with  which  a  like  geographical  scheme  was  associated.  Now  to 
the  east  of  Akkad,  as  especially  representing  this  cardinal  region,  was 
placed  the  country  of  llama,  and  to  this  region  is  assigned  also  the 
star  Al-lab,  evidently  the  same  as  the  Assyrian  Alap,  applied  to 
the  Taurus,  and  a  frequent  designation  of  the  man-headed  bulls, 
whose  connection  with  the  Biblical  Cherubim  has  been  often  sug- 
gested by  scholars,  and  which  will  receive  ample  proof  in  the  sequel 
of  the  present  chapter.  Bearing  the  two  facts  in  mind,  then,  1st, 
that  Akkad  here  replaces  the  Gan-Eden  of  Genesis ;  2d,  that  the 
star  Al-lab  or  Alap  is  definitely  put  for  the  country  of  the  east,  com- 
pare the  following  statement  of  the  Mosaic  text;  "So  he  drove  out 
the  man :  and  he  placed  at  the  east  of  the  garden  of  Eden  cheru- 
bim, and  a  flaming  sword  which  turned  every  way,  to  keep  the 
way  of  the  tree  of  life  "  (Gen.  iii.  24).  In  view  of  these  considera- 
tions it  will  be  difficult  to  resist  the  conclusion  that  the  mystical 
intent  of  the  scribe  was,  in  this  geographical  symbolism  tradition- 


326 


HAR-MOAD. 


ally  inherited  from  Eden,  and  in  definitely  assimilating  the  Taurus 
to  the  country  of  the  east,  to  incorporate  in  this  arrangement  the 
tradition  of  the  cherubim  placed  to  the  east  of  the  Garden  of  Eden. 
To  this  end  he  has  put  the  two  zodiacal  constellations,  Aries  and 
Taurus,  for  the  two  opposite  points  of  the  compass,  —  Aries  for  the 
west,  Taurus  for  the  east,  although  they  directly  succeed  each 
other  in  the  ordinary  zodiacal  order.  Thus,  as  Aries  answers  to 
the  west,  we  must  conceive  Taurus  in  direct  connection  with  the 
opposite  sign  of  the  zodiac,  which  is  Libra.  But  of  this  here- 
after. 

SEC.  128.  We  must  study  now  the  actual  form  of  the  cherubim. 
That  the  body  of  these  symbolic  figures,  to  which  four  faces  were 
attached,  according  to  the  Scriptural  accounts,  was  that  of  an  ox  or 
lull  admits  of  the  clearest  demonstration.  One  proof  is  derived 
from  the  double  description  of  these  symbolical  animals  found  in 
the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel.  This  writer  proceeds  thus  :  "  And  every 
one  had  four  faces,  and  every  one  had  four  wings.  And  their  feet 
were  straight  feet ;  and  the  sole  of  their  feet  was  like  the  sole  of  a 
calf's  foot."  "  As  for  the  likeness  of  their  faces,  they  four  had  the 
face  of  a  man,  and  the  face  of  a  lion,  on  the  right  side :  and  they 
four  had  the  face  of  an  ox  on  the  left  side  ;  they  four  also  had  the 
face  of  an  eagle"  (ch.  i.  6,  7,  10).  The  "face  of  an  ox"  and 
the  u  feet  of  a  calf "  indicate  quite  clearly  that  the  body  of  the 
cherubim  was  modeled  after  the  form  of  the  taurus.  This  suppo- 
sition is  fully  established  by  the  description  of  the  same  figures  in 
the  tenth  chapter,  where  instead  of  the  expression,  "  face  of  an  ox," 
we  have  substituted  "  the  face  of  a  cherub,"  this  term  being  the 
singular  of  which  the  word  cherubim  is  the  plural.  "  And  every 
one  had  four  faces :  the  first  face  was  the  face  of  a  cherub,  and  the 
second  face  was  the  face  of  a  man,  and  the  third  the  face  of  a 
lion,  and  the  fourth  the  face  of  an  eagle"  (x.  14).  The  four 
faces  of  our  description  are  evidently  identical  with  those  of  the 
other;  but  the  term  cherub  (^"i?)  takes  in  the  tenth  chapter  the 
place  of  the  ox  (Titt?)  in  the  first  description.  This  proves  that  the 
two  terms  were  considered  by  the  prophet  as  designations  of  one 
and  the  same  animal,  —  in  other  words,  that  the  ox  or  taurus  was  re- 
garded characteristically  as  the  cherub,  a  term  from  which  the  plural 
cherubim  is  formed.  Dr.  Faber,  in  the  great  work  already  cited  in 
these  pages,  regards  the  data  furnished  by  these  two  descriptions  of 


THE  TWELVE  STARS  OF  PHCENICIA.  327 

the  symbolic  animals  as  wholly  conclusive  upon  the  point  before  us, 
and  M.  Lenormant  adopts  the  same  view.1 

Another  evidence  not  less  conclusive  that  the  body  of  the  cheru- 
bim was  that  of  the  taurus  is  derived  from  the  fact,  now  definitely 
settled,  of  the  direct  connection  of  the  Scriptural  cherubim  with  the 
man-bulls  of  Assyria.  Exegetes  had  long  since  conjectured  that 
there  was  such  a  connection,  and  now  M.  Lenormant  produces  the 
satisfactory  proof  of  it  in  the  following  extract :  — 

"  M.  de  Saulcy,  with  the  ingenious  and  fine  archaeological  tact 
that  distinguishes  him,  has  labored  to  establish  the  identity  of  the 
cherubim  of  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  in  the  Holy  of  Holies  of  Solo- 
mon's temple,  with  the  winged  bulls  placed  at  the  gates  of  the 
Assyrian  palaces.  ...  A  comparison  of  verse  14, 10th  chapter  of 
Ezekiel,  with  the  10th  verse  of  the  1st  chapter,  proves  that  the 
prophet  employs  the  word  Kerub  (cherub)  in  the  sense  of  4  taurus.' 
The  question  is  to-day  decided,  conformably  to  the  opinion  of  the 
learned  Academician,  by  the  testimony  of  the  Assyrian  inscriptions, 
where  we  find  the  winged  bulls  with  a  human  face  designated  alter- 
nately by  the  words  alapi  (bulls)  and  kirubi  (ditto),  and  where  the 
expression  Mrub  is  extended  afterwards  by  catachresis  to  the  gate 
itself  flanked  by  these  symbolic  animals.  Thus  we  see  that  we  have 
not  to  search,  as  many  scholars  have  done,  such  as  Tuch,  Gesenius, 
and  Renan,  for  an  Aryan  origin  of  the  Biblical  name  cherubim,  com- 
paring it  to  the  Griffons  (r/ai^cs),  located  in  India  by  the  Greek 
legends,  because  Mrub  is  a  word  perfectly  Semitic,  and.  is  often  ap- 
plied to  the  ox  as  an  animal  employed  in  agriculture.  The  poetic 
imagination  of  the  Hebrews  represents  the  cherubim  as  guarding 

1  Faber,  Pagan  Idolatry,  i.  p.  421.  Lenormant,  Frag,  de  Berose,  pp.  137, 
138.  Exegetes  have  often  maintained  that  the  substitution  here  of  Keruh 
for  Shar  is  not  conclusive  as  to  the  form  of  these  figures.  Admit  that  the  de- 
monstration is  not  mathematical ;  yet  it  is  a  moral  certainty,  considering  the 
facts:  1st.  That  Kerub  is  known  to  have  designated  an  ox,  independently  of 
Ezekiel' s  language.  2d.  That  the  four  faces  of  one  description  are  the  same  as 
those  of  the  other.  3d.  That  instead  of  the  "face  of  an  ox"  in  one  instance, 
we  have  the  substitution  of  the  "  face  of  a  cherub  "  in  the  other.  This  proves 
that  Ezekiel  was  aware  of  the  application  of  the  very  term  "cherub  "  to  desig- 
nate the  "ox,"  and  thus  that  the  substitution  of  one  for  the  other  was  perfectly 
legitimate.  Now,  if  the  singular  "  cherub  "  means  an  ox,  certainly  the  funda- 
mental idea,  and  thence  the  ground  form,  of  the  "  cherubim  "  must  have  refer- 
ence to  this  animal.  However,  other  evidences  not  less  conclusive  follow  in  the 
text.  The  fact  that  the  cherubim  of  Eden  are  placed  in  direct  relation  to  the 
"  tree  of  life,"  and  that  the  taurus  was  universally  the  symbol  of  nature's  gener- 
ative forces,  ought  to  suggest  the  leading  idea  of  these  symbolic  animals. 


328 


HAR-MOAD. 


the  gate  of  the  terrestrial  paradise,  just  as  their  analogues  did  the 
Assyrian  palace."  1 

The  term  Alap,  or  Alapi  for  the  plural,  preceded  by  the  deter- 
minative of  divinity,  is  quite  frequent  in  the  cuneiform  texts  as 
designation  of  the  man-headed  bulls.  I  have  never  noticed  an  in- 
stance where  the  word  Kirub  was  applied  to  the  same  symbolical 
figures,  and  was  inclined  to  doubt  such  usage  for  this  term  ;  but  M. 
Lenormant's  language,  although  he  cites  no  inscription,  shows  that 
he  is  certain  of  the  existence  of  texts  of  this  character.  Thus,  the 
two  species  of  evidence  now  before  us  leave  no  room  for  doubt  that 
the  taurus  was  characteristically  the  cherubic  animal.  It  is  this 
animal  that  the  arrangement  of  the  tablet  of  twelve  stars  forces  us 
to  locate  in  the  zodiacal  sign  Libra,  as  intimated  already,  in  which 
sign  the  Egyptians  placed  their  solar  mountain,  evidently  to  be 
identified  with  the  mountain  to  which  Ishtar  of  Babylon,  and  Ida 
in  India,  had  been  associated,  that  is  to  say,  the  mount  of  paradise. 
SEC.  129.  It  is  quite  evident  that  there  existed  on  the  part  of 
the  scribe,  in  the  peculiar  arrangement  of  our  tablet,  another  design 
accessory  to  the  one  already  pointed  out.  It  is  important  to  note 
the  fact,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  sign  of  the  Balance,  or  Libra, 
was  unknown  to  the  Babylonian  sphere.  It  is  correctly  stated  by 
M.  Lenormant,  on  the  evidences  furnished  by  the  inscriptions,  (hat 
the  Pincers  of  the  Scorpion  occupied  the  zodiacal  space,  where  we 
find  the  Balance  in  the  Greek  as  well  as  in  our  modern  zodiacs.2 
Another  fact  equally  significant  in  its  bearings,  as  we  shall  soon 
discover,  relates  to  the  symbolical  representation  of  the  sun  in  its 
annual  course  under  the  form  of  the  taurus.  A  proof  of  this  was 
presented  in  a  previous  chapter,  as  derived  from  the  Accadian  term 
Grut-tam,  or  G-ut-tav,  explained  by  the  Assyrian  pitnu  sa  same,  "  the 
furrow  of  heaven,"  that  is,  the  ecliptic.  The  element  Gut  denotes 
the  "  taurus,"  and  Tarn  is  one  of  the  values  of  the  Accadian  char- 
acter designating  the  "  sun."  Thus,  the  sun  in  his  zodiacal  journey 
was  deemed  the  solar  bull,  which  yoked  with  the  heifer,  as  per- 
sonifying the  moon,  ploughed  the  celestial  furrow.  But  the  taurus 
in  this  case  was  likewise  a  representative  of  the  generative  force  of 
nature,  a  force  that  was  considered  as  appertaining  to  the  sun,  espe- 
cially in  connection  with  the  moon.  Bearing  these  facts  in  mind, 

1  Frag,  de  Berose,  pp.  80,  81. 

2  Vid.  Prem.  Civilisations,  ii.  pp.  68,  69. 


THE  TWELVE  STARS  OF  PHOENICIA.  329 

we  proceed  to  still  another.     Upon  the  ancient  art  monuments,  de- 
signed to  represent  the  annual  sacrifice  of   a  taurus,   we  see  fre- 
quently  figured    a   serpent   and  scorpion   attacking    the   prostrate 
victim ;  and  uniformly  the  scorpion  is  seen  in  the  act  of  "  seizing, 
holding,  griping "  with  destructive  force  the  generative  organs  of 
the  victim.1     There  can  be  no  mistake  as  to  the  design  of  these 
artistic   representations.      The    taurus   symbolizes  the    productive 
power  of  the  sun  in  its  annual  course.     The  sacrifice  of  the  taurus 
is  then  a  type  of  the  decay  and  gradual  destruction  of  that  force,  as 
the  sun  passes  from  the  upper  into  the  lower  hemisphere ;  and  it  is 
precisely  in   the  signs    Libra   and    Scorpio,   both  spaces  formerly 
occupied  by  Scorpio  alone,  that  this  "  descent"  of  the  sun  into  the 
lower  regions  takes  place.     Naturally,  owing  to  the  circumstances 
here  stated,  the  Taurus  had  been  associated  in  conception  with  the 
sign  of  the  Pincers,  or  Libra,  denoting  that  period  when  the  sun's 
productive  power  began  to  decay,  and  when  this  animal  symbol  of 
nature's  generative  force  fell  a  victim  to  the  power  of    darkness. 
M.  Dupuis  makes  the  following  correct   statement  relative  to  the 
sign   Scorpio:    "The  Egyptians   placed   here  the   seat  of  the  evil 
principle  Typhon,  who  kills  Osiris,  or  the  god  with  the  head  of  an 
ox,  as  Plutarch  observes,  during  the    month   when   the  sun  passes 
through  this  sign."5     The  god  under  the  human  form,  represented 
with  the  head  of  an  ox,  is  simply  another  mode  of  expressing  the 
notion  involved  in  the  man-headed  bull,  the  symbolical  animal  of 
the  Assyrians,  corresponding  in  name  and  character  to  the  Hebrew 
cherub  or  cherubim.     The  symbolical  design  of  the  scribe,  then,  in 
the  peculiar  arrangement  of  our  tablet  of  twelve  stars  is  manifestly 
that  which  we  have  supposed.     There  is  a  reference  to  the  sun's 
descent  into  the  lower  hemisphere,  and  to  the  sacrifice  of  the  taurus, 
at  that  period  when  this  luminary  passes  from  the  sign  of  the  Pin- 
cers into  Scorpio  itself.     But  there  is  obviously  a  primary  reference 
to  the  tradition  of  the  cherubim  of  Eden ;  since  the  solar  mountain 
of  the  Egyptians,  and  the  mountain  to  which  Isbtar  was  assimilated, 
relating  doubtless  to  the  mount  of  paradise,  were  alike  located  zo- 
diacally  in  Libra. 

SEC.  130.  We  are  prepared  now  to  entertain  the  question  upon 

1  Vid.  Lajard,  Culte  de  Venus,  PI.  XVI.    Cf.  De  Hammer,  Culte  de  MiOira 
PI.  XXIII.,  etc. 

2  Origine  de  tous  les  Cultes,  iii.  p.  239. 


HAR-MOAD. 

which  critics  have  held  so  many  different  and  contradictory  opin- 
ions, —  the  question  which  regards  the  etymology  of  the  word  che- 
rubim. Dr.  Kurtz,  in  the  article  on  the  "  Cherubim  "  in  Herzog's 
"  Real-Encyclopadie,"  as  found  in  the  condensed  American  trans- 
lation of  this  work,  opposes  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Delitzsch,  as  seen  in 
the  subjoined  extract :  — 

"  The  explanation  of  Delitzsch  is  equally  unsatisfactory,  in  which 
the  word  Karat  (3-13),  according  to  the  rule  of  radically  related 
verbs,  Qa-rab,  Tra-rab  (mp,  rns),  and  according  to  the  analogy  of 
the  Sanskrit  Gribh,  the  Persian  G-iriften,  and  the  Gothic  Gripan 
(Gr.  Fpityes),  has  as  its  ground  the  sense  of  seizing,  taking,  holding, 
and  the  cherubim  are  supposed  to  be  those  who  hold  and  sustain 
the  throne  of  God."  * 

Dr.  Kurtz  very  pertinently  objects,  I  think,  that  the  Biblical 
cherubim  are  never  represented  as  seizing,  holding,  or  sustaining 
the  throne  of  God.  Nevertheless,  the  etymology  of  the  Hebrew 
Kerub,  from  which  the  plural  cherubim  is  formed,  as  given  by  Dr. 
Delitzsch,  is  supported  by  Dr.  Fiirst,  and  is  undoubtedly  correct. 
The  writer  last  named  (vid.  rro)  gives  the  following  derivation : 
"  Karab  (2*12),  not  used,  equivalent  to  Qarab  (mn),  in  Akrab 
(^iW»  4  scorpion '),  '  to  seize,  to  lay  hold  of,  to  grip,'  the  same  as 
Garuph  (^3),  'to  hold  fast.'  From  which  Kerub  (DSPS)."  Dr. 
Fiirst  (art.  3n?)  agrees  with  Dr.  Delitzsch  in  construing  the  fun- 
damental notion  of  seizing  and  holding,  with  reference  to  sustaining 
or  upholding  the  chariot  or  throne  of  Jehovah.  But  it  appears  to 
me  that  Dr.  Kurtz's  objection  to  this  view,  as  stated  above,  holds 
perfectly  good.  One  still  more  serious,  I  think,  is  derived  from 
the  ground  idea  itself,  as  involved  in  Karab,  equal  to  Qarab,  in 
Akrab,  "  the  scorpion."  The  sense  is  not  "  to  sustain,  to  uphold," 
as  the  throne  of  God,  but  "to  seize,  grip,  hold,"  as  the  scorpion 
with  its  pincers  or  claws,  or  as  the  bird  of  prey — the  eagle  for 
instance  —  with  its  talons.  That  the  conception  last  indicated  is 
really  that  from  which  the  notion  of  the  cherub  has  proceeded  is 
proved  by  two  important  facts :  — 

1st.  Precisely  the  same  sense  of  "  to  seize,   to  grip,  to  hold," 

involved  in  the  Hebrew  Qarab  and  Akrab,  attaches  to  the  Aryan 

Merops,  according  to  Professor  Curtius   (Grundz.,  p.    456),    and 

Merops  was  identified  with  the  eagle  by  the  Greeks.     The  eagle  is 

1  Prot.  Theoloy.  Encyc.  i.  ;  art.  "  Cherubim." 


THE  TWELVE  STARS  OF  PHOENICIA.  331 

sometimes  substituted  for  the  serpent  in  the  Biblical  descriptions  of 
the  four  faces  of  the  cherubim.  The  Garuda,  or  eagle,  in  the 
Hindu  legends  was  directly  associated  with  the  sacred  tree  as  guar- 
dian genius,  and  was  otherwise  conceived  as  one  of  the  griffons, 
supposed  to  guard  hidden  treasures,  just  as  the  winged  bulls  pro- 
tected the  treasures  of  the  Assyrian  palaces.  The  etymology  of  the 
term  Kerub  proposed  by  Tuch,  Gesenius,  Renan,  and  others,  from 
the  Sanskrit  Gribh,  Greek  Crruphes,  was  thus  so  far  correct  as  per- 
tains to  the  ground  notion  involved. 

2d.  The  identical  term  Ki-ru-bu,  assumed  by  Dr.  Fried.  Delitzsch 
as  one  with  the  Hebrew  Kerub,  thus  confirming  the  views  of  M. 
Lenormant  already  cited  upon  this  point,  is  definitely  applied  to 
designate  a  bird  of  prey,  thought  to  be  the  vulture  or  hawk  by  the 
German  Assyriologue  just  named.1  Thus,  although  the  Assyrian 
Kirub  was  otherwise  employed  with  reference  to  the  man-bulls,  the 
sense  involved  was  not  that  of  "  sustaining,  upholding,"  but  that  of 
"  to  seize,  to  grip,"  like  the  scorpion  or  a  bird  of  prey,  and  the  evi- 
dence to  this  effect  is  the  fact  that  the  term  was  sometimes  employed 
to  designate  the  vulture,  hawk,  or  a  bird  of  like  ferocious  habits. 

The  data  thus  presented  must  be  considered  as  perfectly  conclu- 
sive, in  my  estimation,  that  the  ground  thought  involved  in  the 
Hebrew  term  cherub,  from  which  cherubim  is  formed,  was  that  of 
"  to  seize,  grip,  hold,*'  as  the  scorpion  with  its  pincers  or  the  eagle 
with  its  talons.  But  in  fact,  as  already  established,  the  cherubic 
animal  is  the  taurus.  By  what  possible  association  of  ideas,  then, 
could  the  notion  of  "  seizing,  griping,  holding,"  be  applied  to  the 
taurus  ?  The  peculiar  and  anomalous  arrangement  of  our  tablet, 
which  has  been  described,  taken  in  connection  with  the  represen- 
tations upon  the  art  monuments,  already  alluded  to,  pertaining  to 
the  annual  sacrifice  of  a  taurus,  affords  us  a  most  complete  explana- 
tion as  regards  the  rare  combination  of  ideas  such  as  that  involved 
in  these  symbolic  animals.  The  taurus  to  which  more  immediate 
reference  is  had  is  the  solar  bull,  which  personifies  in  his  sacrifice 
the  orb  of  day  as  it  makes  its  annual  "descent"  from  the  sign  of 
the  Pincers,  or  Libra,  into  the  lower  hemisphere,  significant  type  of 

1  Assyr.  Studien,  H.  i.  pp.  107,  108.  Cf.  2d  Rawl.  PI.  37,  No.  1,  Revs.  1.  17. 
Ku-ru-bu  is  here  taken  by  the  author  as  radically  one  with  Ki-ru-bu.  Dr.  Schra- 
der  is  cited  for  the  assimilation  of  the  term  to  the  Hebew  Kerub,  and  the  etymol- 
ogy of  Dr.  Franz  Delitzsch  already  shown  is  adopted. 


332 


HAR-MOAD. 


the  destruction  of  nature's  generative  force.  But  we  have  seen, 
on  one  hand,  that  the  sacred  mount  of  the  east  was  located  zodia- 
cally  in  the  sign  of  the  Pincers,  where  the  Egyptians  were  accus- 
tomed to  represent  the  great  mother,  who  corresponds  so  exactly 
with  the  "  mother  of  all  living,'1  and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  has 
been  shown  that  the  sun's  course  was  regarded  in  antiquity  as  a 
symbol  of  the  life  of  humanity  (Sec.  85).  This  "descent,"  there- 
fore, to  which  the  name  Jared  referred,  of  which  the  sun's  passage 
into  the  lower  regions  was  a  symbol,  was  the  fall  of  man  !  The 
terrible  loss  attending  that  sad  event,  hereditarily  transmitted  to 
Adam's  posterity,  was  like  that  of  the  sun  as  its  celestial  fires  are 
quenched  in  the  dark  waters  into  which  it  descends  at  midwinter, 
or  like  that  of  the  celestial  taurus,  attacked  by  the  serpent  and 
scorpion,  or,  finally,  like  that  of  the  ox  which  has  been  houghed  ! 
The  inheritance  of  an  incapacity  by  the  sons  of  Adam,  such  as  is 
here  so  plainly  indicated,  is  simply  frightful  to  contemplate,  but  it 
accords  perfectly  with  the  dogmas  of  the  old  theology,  and  gives  an 
intense  significance  to  many  a  passage  of  the  sacred  text. 

SEC.  131.  The  views  set  forth  in  the  last  section  respecting  the 
symbolical  ideas  fundamental  in  the  conception  of  the  cherubim 
find  obviously  a  direct  confirmation  in  the  facts  established  in  the 
second  chapter  (Sec.  21),  with  reference  to  the  "tree  of  life,"  as 
well  as  in  the  various  notions  traditionally  inherited  by  different 
Asiatic  peoples  pertaining  to  the  sacred  tree.  The  investigations 
referred  to  sufficed  to  show :  1st.  That  the  palm  had  been  taken  for 
the  tree  of  life,  or  at  least  as  a  type  of  it,  even  by  the  inspired 
writers ;  2d.  That  the  palm,  and  thus  the  tree  of  life  itself,  was 
directly  associated  with  the  calendar,  being  taken,  in  fact,  as  a  sym- 
bol of  the  year,  derived  from  its  twelve  fruit-harvests.  As  stated  by 
the  author  of  Genesis,  the  cherubim  were  placed  to  the  east  of  the 
Garden  of  Eden,  "  to  keep  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life."  Thus,  if 
this  tree  was  itself  connected  with  the  calendar,  with  the  sun's 
annual  course,  it  is  necessary  to  assume  that  the  cherubim  were 
likewise  thus  associated.  Such  an  inference,  of  course,  would  tend 
to  confirm  the  opinion  long  since  put  forth  by  M.  Dupuis  that  the 
cherubic  figures,  with  their  four  faces,  were  closely  related  in  origin 
to  the  four  zodiacal  constellations,  or  animals  having  similar  faces, 
namely,  the  ox  or  taurus,  the  lion,  the  serpent  or  eagle,  substituted 
for  the  scorpion,  and  finally  the  water-bearer,  having  the  face  of  a 


THE  TWELVE   STARS   OF  PHOENICIA.  333 

man.  In  view  of  all  the  facts,  I  feel  compelled  to  adopt  substan- 
tially M.  Dupuis'  suggestion.  But  instead  of  seeing  here  any  proof 
of  the  astrological  origin  of  all  religions,  as  this  author  does,  I  recog- 
nize in  these  symbolic  figures,  in  connection  with  the  data  already 
introduced,  an  astronomical  record,  so  to  speak,  confirming  the 
Mosaic  account  of  the  fall  of  man.  For  the  rest,  the  cuneiform  texts 
afford  the  evidence  that  two  distinct  classes  of  Alapi,  or  Kirubi, 
were  well  known  to  the  Chaldaeo-Assyrians ;  that  is  to  say,  the  ce- 
lestial and  the  terrestrial.  Thus  we  have  the  following  phrases  : :  — 

11  Alap  an-ta,  "  the  god  Kirub  of  heaven." 

11  Alap  ki-ta,  "  the  god  Kirub  of  earth." 

In  this  case,  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  celestial  Alapi  were  the 
prototypes  of  the  terrestrial ;  and  as  the  Biblical  cherubim  have 
been  shown  to  have  had  a  direct  connection  with  one  of  these 
classes,  it  is  necessary  to  infer  a  primary  reference  also1  to  the  other. 
According  to  the  mystical  arrangement  of  the  scribe  in  our  tablet, 
we  must  conceive  the  celestial  Kirubi  as  located  zodiacally  in  Libra, 
or  the  sign  of  the  Pincers  of  the  Scorpion.  In  this  sign,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  Egyptians  placed  the  solar  mountain,  together  with  the 
great  mother  and  her  child,  an  obvious  reference  to  the  seed  of  the 
woman  which  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head  (Gen.  iii.  15).  Now 
Joseph,  symbolized  by  the  ox,  was  evidently  a  type  of  Christ,  the 
veritable  seed  of  the  woman.  Joseph's  descent  into  Egypt  was  like 
that  of  Christ  into  Hades,  a  region  definitely  assimilated  to  the 
lower  hemisphere,  as  shown  in  our  seventh  chapter.  Not  only  this, 
but  the  terrestrial  paradise  had  been  transferred  to  the  same  region  ; 
and  to  this  the  Saviour  alludes  in  the  language:  "This  day  shalt 
thou  be  with  me  in  paradise."  All  this  was  represented  in  the 
annual  course  of  the  sun,  which,  as  a  symbol  of  the  life  of  man, 
and  especially  of  the  God-man,  goes  to  illustrate  the  significance  of 
the  notion  fundamental  in  the  conception  of  the  cherubim,  as 
already  explained  in  the  previous  section. 

It  is  necessary  to  take  into  consideration  here  another  order  of 
facts,  pertaining  to  the  tree  of  life  as  typified  by  the  palm,  and  as 
embodied  in  nearly  all  the  Asiatic  traditions  respecting  the  sacred 
tree.  There  was  the  male-palm  and  the  female-palm,  or  date-tree. 
It  was  the  practice  in  Babylonia,  as  stated  by  Herodotus,  to  tie  the 
branches  of  the  two  species  together,  for  the  purpose  of  the  produc- 
1  3d  Rawl.  PI.  66,  Ob?.  Col.  3,  11.  26,  27. 


334  HAR-MOAD. 


tion  of  fruit.  Rev.  Mr.  Rawlinson  adds  to  this  statement  the  fol- 
lowing in  a  note :  "  All  that  is  required  for  fructification,  they  tell 
us,  is  that  the  pollen  from  the  blossoms  of  the  male-palm  should 
come  into  contact  with  the  fruit  of  the  female-palm  or  date-tree."  l 
The  name  of  the  sacred  tree  answering  to  the  tree  of  life,  among 
the  Aryans  of  India,  is  explained  by  M.  Lenormant  as  the  "  tree  of 
desires  or  of  periods."  2  According  to  the  same  author,  the  repre- 
sentations of  this  tree  upon  the  art  monuments  from  the  Euphrates 
valley  sufficiently  indicate  the  traditionary  idea  of  its  sexual  char- 
acter. If  we  connect  these  various  notions  inherited  from  tradition 
by  nations  widely  separated  with  the  data  previously  presented,  espe- 
cially in  the  twenty-first  section,  it  will  be  difficult  to  avoid  the 
conclusion  that  the  tree  of  life  had  reference,  not  to  any  abstract 
principle,  of  which  the  first  men  had  little  conception,  but  to  life  in 
the  concrete,  and  under  its  ordinary  manifestation  as  a  reproductive 
force.  Such  being  the  case,  the  symbolism  which  we  have  found 
fundamental  in  the  conception  of  the  cherubim,  and  even  in  the 
origin  of  the  term,  can  hardly  fail  to  be  regarded  as  embodying  a 
correct  interpretation  of  the  entire  subject.  The  progenitors  of 
mankind  had  sustained  an  irreparable  loss,  which  had  been  entailed 
upon  all  succeeding  generations  by  the  natural  laws  of  hereditary 
transmission.  From  that  hour,  the  human  race  had  ceased  to  be 
able  to  reproduce  the  paradisiacal  man.  The  record  of  this  terrible 
calamity  had  been  symbolically  represented  at  an  unknown  period 
in  the  two  divisions  of  the  zodiac  formerly  occupied  by  the  Scorpion 
and  its  Pincers.  For  myself,  I  can  make  nothing  else  out  of  the 
data  which  have  been  submitted  to  the  reader.  Two  other  records, 
having  the  same  import,  are  yet  to  be  traced  in  the  heavens. 

SEC.  132.  We  have  not  yet  exhausted  the  symbolism  inherent 
in  the  cherubim.  They  have  often  been  interpreted,  in  fact,  as 
types  of  superhuman  strength,  of  divine  power ;  and  their  direct 
connection  with  the  god  Hercules  in  the  Asiatic  systems  can  be 
readily  shown.  The  Assyrian  Hercules  takes  usually  in  the  cunei- 
form texts  the  name  which  is  read  Nin^  Nin-ib  or  Nin-ip  by  the 
Messrs.  Rawlinson,  Adar  by  M.  Lenormant.  The  simple  phonetic 
values  of  the  characters  employed  in  writing  the  name  of  this  di- 

1  Rawl.  Herod.,  i.  p.  259,  and  note  7.     On  the  sexual  character  of  the  palm, 
consult  also  Robinson's  Calmet,  art.  "  Palm-tree." 

2  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  325. 


THE  TWELVE   STARS  OF  PHCENICIA.  335 

vinity  would  be  Nin-ib,  with  the  permutation  of  the  last  element  to 
ip,  if  one  chooses.  The  ideographic  value  of  these  two  signs  would 
be  lord  +  generation,  or  "  lord  of  generation."  It  is  well  known 
that  this  personage  was  identified  with  the  planet  Saturn  at  >an 
epoch  quite  early,  although  primitively,  as  M.  Lenormant  shows,  he 
was  the  sun  of  the  lower  hemisphere.  It  is  a  fact  well  established 
that  Nin,  as  Hercules-Saturn,  had  for  his  symbol  the  man-bull, 
already  identified  with  the  Biblical  cherubim.  One  proof  of  this  is 
the  very  name  of  Saturn,  Lubat-sak-us  ;  thus,  lubat,  "  animal ; " 
saJc,  "  head  ;  "  us,  "  male,  man  ;  "  hence,  "  the  animal  with  the  head 
of  a  man."  Nin  was  likewise  assimilated  to  the  fish-god,  to  the 
god  Hea,  in  fact,  as  we  shall  show.  The  extracts  which  we  pro- 
ceed to  introduce  will  sufficiently  verify  the  different  statements 
just  made.  Rev.  Mr.  Rawlinson  observes:  — 

"Many  classical  traditions,  we  must  remember,  identified  Her- 
cules with  Saturn  ;  and  it  seems  certain  that  in  the  east  at  any  rate 
this  identification  was  common.  Nin,  in  the  inscriptions,  is  the  god 
of  strength  and  courage,"  etc.  "  In  many  respects  he  bears  a  close 
resemblance  to  Nergal  or  Mars.  Like  him,  he  is  a  god  of  battle 
and  of  the  chase,"  etc.  "  He  is  the  true  c  fish-god'  of  Berosus,  and 
is  figured  as  such  in  the  sculptures.  In  this  point  of  view  he  is 
called  c  the  god  of  the  sea,'  '.he  who  dwells  in  the  deep,'  etc.  Nin's 
emblem  in  Assyria  is  the  man-bull,  the  impersonation  of  strength 
and  power."  1 

That  Nin  or  Adar  was  the  true  fish-god,  identified  with  Hea 
and  associated  with  the  man-bulls,  will  appear  for  the  rest  from  the 
following:  1st.  The  name  of  Mercury  answering  to  the  zodiacal 
sign  Pisces  is  Ka  an  e-a,  "  fish  of  the  god  Hea."  2d.  The  As- 
syrian name  of  the  month  corresponding  to  Pisces  is  A-da-ru,  or 
Adar.  3d.  But  the  god  Hea,  in  the  distribution  of  the  divinities 
according  to  the  zodiacal  signs,  is  otherwise  assimilated  to  that  of 
Taurus.2  4th.  In  his  relation  to  this  sign,  Hea  takes  the  title  of 
Alap  Shamas,  "Taurus  of  the  Sun."3  But  I  desire  to  add  here 
the  important  testimony  of  Sir  H.  Rawlinson,  who  has  the  follow- 
ing with  reference  to  Nin  or  Adar :  — 

"  In  the  stellar  tablets  it  is  clearly  established  that  the  god  in 
question  must  represent  the  constellation  Taurus,  in  virtue  proba- 

1  Five  Monarchies,  etc.,  i.  pp.  132,  133. 

2  Vid.  Sayce,  Trans.  Bib.  Arch.  So.,  iii.  p.  148,  note. 
8  Vid.  Lenormant,  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  114. 


336 


[AR-MOAD. 


bly  of  his  connection  with  the  man-bull,  which,  as  the  impersona- 
tion of  strength  and  power,  was  dedicated  to  him."  "  M.  Raoul 
Rochette,  in  his  elaborate  memoir  on  the  Assyrian  Hercules,  . 
viewing  the  subject  from  a  classical  rather  than  an  oriental  point 
ofxview,  has  accumulated  abundant  evidence  to  show  that  Hercules 
was  commonly  confounded  in  the  east  with  Saturn.  Damascius 
thus  quotes  a  tradition  on  the  authority  of  Hellanicus  and  Hieronv- 
mus,  the  Peripatetic:  'That  from  the  two  primitive  elements,  water 
and  earth,  was  born  a  dragon,  who,  besides  his  serpent's  head,  had 
two  other  heads,  those  of  a  lion  and  a  bull,  between  which  was 

placed  the  visage  of  god  '  (0eo9  Trpdo-wTrov,  'ft»/o/xacr0<u  Se  X/>oW  ayrjparov 
Kal  'Hpa/cA^a  TOV  curoi/)."  * 


The  Greek  term  prosopon  (TTPO'O-WTTOV),  employed  above  in  refer- 
ence to  the  u  visnge  "  of  god,  is  the  ordinary  expression  denoting 
the  "  human  countenance  "  as  distinguished  from  those  of  animals. 
It  was  termed  in  this  case  "  the  visage  of  god  "  instead  of  a  man, 
since  the  "dragon"  alluded  to  was  taken  for  a  divinity.  But  no- 
thing is  plainer  than  the  fact  that  this  "  dragon  "  is  to  be  identified 
with  the  Biblical  cherubim.  The  proofs  are  :  1st.  That  the  cheru- 
bim of  Scripture  are  to  be  identified  with  the  man-bulls  of  Babylon 
and  Nineveh,  as  already  fully  shown.  2d.  That  Nin  or  Adar,  as 
Hercules  -Saturn,  had  for  his  emblem  the  man  -bull,  a  fact  also 
abundantly  established.  3d.  That  this  "dragon,"  having  the  four 
faces  of  a  man,  a  lion,  a  bull,  and  a  serpent,  substituted  often  for 
the  eagle,  a  description  identifying  this  composite  animal  with  the 
Biblical  cherubim  in  a  manner  not  to  be  mistaken,  was  taken  for 
the  god  Hercules,  at  the  same  time  for  Ohronos  or  Saturn,  being  in 
this  sense  a  time  god,  and  thus  answering  exactly  in  character  to 
the  Assyrian  Hercules-Saturn. 

SEC.  133.  The  data  presented  in  the  last  section  must  be  re- 
garded as  conclusive,  I  think,  to  the  effect  that  the  symbolic  ani- 
mals, termed  Kirubi  in  the  cuneiform  texts,  Cherubim,  or  Kerubim* 
by  the  Biblical  writers,  were  definitely  associated  with  the  Hercules, 
or  Hercules-Saturn  of  the  Asiatic  religions.  But  it  remains  to  show 
that  this  personage  was  primitively  the  sun.  Alluding  to  Nin-ip, 
whom  he  calls  Adar,  M.  Lenormant  has  the  following  :  - 

"  This  entire  side  of  the  character  of  Adar  is  a  remnant  of  his 
ancient  nature  as  solar  deity,  and  it  shows  that  when  he  possessed 
this  character  he  was  the  personification  of  the  sun  of  darkness  and 

1  Vid.  Rawl.,  Herod.,  i.  pp.  504,  505,  and  note  9. 


THE  TWELVE  STARS  OF  PHCENICIA.  337 

night,  of  the  sun  in  the  inferior  hemisphere.  This  is  indicated  also 
by  his  essentially  funeral  nature,  evinced  in -the  ceremonies  in  honor 
of  the  Assyrian  Hercules,  most  thoroughly  studied  by  M.  Rochette, 
—  ceremonies  where  he  figures  as  a  god  who  dies,  to  be  afterwards 
raised  again,  who  is  burned  upon  the  funeral  pile,  and  whose  tomb 
is  also  shown."  l 

Thus,  the  primitive  character  of  Hercules  was  that  of  the  sun 
of  the  lower  hemisphere,  being  therefore  identical  with  Tammuz- 
Adonis,  Osiris  of  Egypt,  etc.,  that  is  to  say,  with  the  sun-god  who 
suffers  a  violent  death,  but  is  afterwards  raised  to  life  again.  All 
this  goes  to  show  that  the  Asiatic  Hercules  really  answers  in  char- 
acter to  the  "seed  of  the  woman  which  should  bruise  the  serpent's 
head,"  and  his  definite  connection  with  the  symbolic  figures,  termed 
the  Kirubi  or  Cherubim,  forces  us  likewise  to  identify  him  with  the 
Jehovah  of  the  Old  Testament  as  manifested  in  the  Christ  of  the 
New,  who  also  suffers  a  violent  death,  descends  into  Hades,  or  the 
lower  hemisphere,  but  is  raised  again  on  the  third  day.  That 
which  confirms  this  assimilation  to  Yahveh,  or  Jehovah,  of  the  Old 
Testament  is  the  fact,  on  one  hand,  that  Hea  is  to  be  identified 
with  Hercules,  as  already  shown,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  he  takes 
the  name  of  Auv  Kinuv  (s:^3  Sin),  the  "  Existent  Being,"  a  title 
whose  first  element  is  identical  with  the  Semitic  term  from  which 
the  name  YaJiveh  is  formed.2 

It  is  necessary  now  to  connect  #11  these  facts  with  the  zodiacal 
signs  Libra  and  Scorpio,  together  with  the  ideas  previously  found 
centring  there.  Having  done  this,  it  will  be  impossible  not  to  rec- 
ognize there  at  once  a  combination  of  conceptions  as  remarkable  in 
themselves  as  they  are  important  in  their  bearings.  If  we  are  not 
essentially  misled  respecting  the  import  of  the  data  that  have  been 
presented,  we  must  admit  the  existence  here  of  a  series  of  symbol- 
ical representations,  embodying  not  only  the  main  facts  pertaining 

1  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  113. 

2  Vid.  Lenormant,  Frag,  de  Berose,  p.  65,  and  Lettres  Assyriologiques,  t.  ii. 
p.  194.     M.  Lenormant,  in  the  place  last  cited,  referring  to  SD"O  Sin  as  a  title 
of  Hea,  observes,  "  This  name  signifies  the  *  Existent  Being,'  or  the  '  Absolute 
Being  ; '  the  sense  is  precisely  the  same  as  Svayambhu  of  the  Hindus.    One  remarks, 
likewise,  its  direct  relationship  to  mn\  since  it  has  almost  exactly  the  same  mean- 
ing and  is  derived  from  the  same  root.     It  is  the  'Ao>,  which  at  Cyprus  was  one 
of  the  principal  titles  of  Adonis."     This  Adonis  was  a  character  of  Hercules, 
especially  as  the  dying  sun-god,  who  is  raised  to  a  new  life. 


138 


HAR-MOAD. 


to  the  fall  of  man,  but  those  also  relating  to  the  restoration  of  hu- 
manity to  the  paradisiacal  state.  The  only  correct  standpoint  from 
which  to  interpret  these  extraordinary  and  symbolic  combinations 
is  the  fact  that  the  sun's  course  was*  held  to  be  a  type  of  human 
existence,  a  point  which  will  be  sufficiently  verified  in  the  course 
of  the  present  treatise.1  But  the  sun  was  considered  uniformly 
also  as  a  divinity ;  a  divinity,  however,  who  shares  the  lot  of  man, 
and  in  whom  the  divine  and  human  characters  perfectly  interpene- 
trate. Such  was  Osiris,  unquestionably  the  sun  of  the  lower  hemi- 
sphere, judge  of  the  dead,  yet  being  supposed  to  have  ruled  on 
earth  as  a  civilizer  of  men.  Such  was  Yama  of  the  Hindus,  Yima 
of  the  Persians,  undoubtedly  the  sun,  yet  reputed  first  man  and 
founder  of  paradise.  Such  was  the  Syrian  Adonis,  whose  solar  char- 
acter is  well  known,  although  in  his  human  character  he  meets  with 
an  untimely  death.  Such  was  Nin  or  Adar,  the  Assyrian  Hercules, 
primitively  a  solar  deity,  yet  as  a  man  supposed  to  have  suffered 
death,  and  afterwards  raised  to  life.  This  violent  death  and  subse- 
quent resurrection  is  almost  always  attributed  to  the  sun-gods,  par- 
ticularly those  appertaining  to  the  inferior  hemisphere.  In  most 
instances,  also,  they  have  their  sepulchres,  or  tombs,  regarded  with 
especial  sanctity.  The  ancient  pyramidal  temple  of  Babylon  was 
thought  to  be  the  tomb  of  Bel,  or  Belus.  It  was  one  of  the  primi- 
tive structures  of  the  country.  There  were  two  principal  classes 
of  pyramidal  temples  in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates,  those  whose 
angles  faced  the  cardinal  regions,  and  those  whose  sides  faced  these 
cardinal  points,  and,  as  M.  Lenormant  states,  the  latter  were  re- 
garded as  divine  tombs,2  that  is,  sepulchres  of  the  dying  sun-god, 
who  thus  himself  shared  the  lot  of  humanity.  The  extreme  anti- 
quity of  these  conceptions  applied  to  the  sun,  extending  even  into 
the  night  of  ages,  is  a  matter  susceptible  of  abundant  proof  drawn 
from  modern  researches,  and  this  is  now  generally  admitted  by 
Orientalists.  But  it  is  perfectly  obvious  that  the  notion  of  the 
death  and  resurrection  of  the  sun-god  was  only  a  symbol  of  that 

1  In  addition  to  the  proofs  submitted  in  the  85th  section,  the  reader  is  requested 
to  consult  those  introduced  in  Section  143.     If  the  sacred  books  of  antiquity  were 
collated  for  the  purpose,  a  mass  of  expressions  could  be.  found  involving  the  notion 
in  question ;  but  an  attempt  to  exhaust  this  subject  would  lead  us'far  away  from 
our  present  purpose. 

2  Frag,  de  Berose,  pp.  357,  365. 


THE  TWELVE   STARS   OF  PHOENICIA.  339 

of   man,  and  was  founded  upon  the  notion  yet  more  fundamental 
which  regarded  the  sun's  course  as  a  type  of  human  existence. 

SEC.  134.  The  theory  advocated  by  the  school  of  M.  Dupuis  can- 
not be  admitted  here  as  a  basis  of  interpretation  of  the  facts  which 
have  been  presented  in  the  present  chapter.  In  substance  this 
theory  assumes  that  all  the  ancient  religions,  those  of  the  Bible 
among  the  rest,  had  their  origin  in  astrology,  or  in  astro-mythology, 
being  based  at  first  upon  purely  physical  and  material  ideas.  Thus, 
in  accordance  with  these  views,  the  account  of  the  death  and  resur- 
rection of  Christ  had  no  historical  basis,  but  was  derived  from  the 
ancient  legends  relating  to  the  dying  sun-god.  The  long  priority  of 
these  legends,  if  such  it  is  proper  to  regard  them  exclusively,  to  the 
opening  of  the  Christian  era  admits  now  of  no  doubt.  Hence,  the 
question  here  forced  upon  the  consideration  of  the  Christian  apolo- 
gist is  a  very  serious  and  important  one,  and  it  is  one  moreover  that 
cannot  well  be  set  aside,  if  we  have  regard  to  the  facts  now  being 
brought  to  light  by  modern  research.  It  was  many  years  since 
that  Sir  J.  G.  Wilkinson  felt  compelled  to  make  the  following  re- 
marks :  — 

44  The  sufferings  and  death  of  Osiris  were  the  great  mystery  of 
the  Egyptian  religion,  and  some  traces  of  it  are  perceptible  among 
other  people  of  antiquity.  His  being  the  divine  goodness,  and  the 
abstract  idea  of  4  good,'  his  manifestation  upon  earth  (like  an  Indian 
god),  his  death  and  resurrection,  and  his  office  as  judge  of  the  dead 
in  a  future  state,  look  like  the  early  revelation  of  a  future  manifes- 
tation of  the  deity  converted  into  a  mythological  fable."  1 

I  believe  Sir  J.  G.  Wilkinson  has  correctly  seen  here  that  the  ques- 
tion lies  between  the  theory  of  M.  Dupuis  on  one  hand  and  a  prim- 
itive revelation  on  the  other.  For  myself,  I  adopt  the  hypothesis 
of  a  primitive  revelation  and  one  ivritten  in  the  heavens  !  Indeed,  I 
submit  the  investigations  of  the  present  chapter  as  affording  very 
striking  and  convincing  indications  of  it.  The  principle  of  the 
gradual  and  normal  development  of  religious  ideas,  to  which  the 
comparative  mythologists  of  our  day  attach  so  much  importance, 
does  not  account  for  the  facts  here  presented  to  view.  We  have 
here  conscious  design  and  symbolism,  and  these  of  a  most  remark- 
able character.  The  notions  which  we  have  found  centring  in 
the  zodiacal  signs  Libra  and  Scorpio  had  an  existence,  a  conscious 
1  Vid.  RawU  Herod.,  vol.  ii.  p.  219,  note  3. 


340 


HAR-MOAD. 


existence,  before  they  were  symbolically  represented  there.  The 
simple  natural  phenomena  could  never  suggest  these  ideas,  even 
after  the  zodiac  had  been  formed,  for  we  need  the  written  revela- 
tion now  fro  enable  us  to  comprehend  the  symbolism  here  expressed. 
It  was  only  the  initiated  who  could  understand  its  import  without 
such  aid.  With  respect  to  the  sun-god,  especially,  it  would  be 
impossible  to  conceive  the  sun  as  dying  and  as  being  raised  again, 
until  the  sun's  course  had  been  taken  for  a  symbol  of  the  life  of 
humanity.  But  once  conceived  as  such,  it  could  then,  witli  the 
consummate  ingenuity  and  wisdom  which  we  see  displayed  here,  be 
made  the  vehicle  of  past  history,  and  even  of  prophecy.  I  attri- 
bute the  origin  of  this  symbolism  to  those  primitive  "  corpora- 
tions," to  that  ancient  order  of  priest-kings,  who  formed  the  subject 
of  our  third  chapter,  and  I  believe  that  this  view  is  yet  to  be  vindi- 
cated. At  the  least,  a  very  high  order  of  intelligence  has  presided 
over  those  rare  combinations  of  ideas,  which  we  have  seen  centring 
in  the  two  zodiacal  divisions  named.  The  simple  union  of  the 
four  principal  constellations  of  the  zodiac,  forming  the  composite 
figure  of  the  cherubim  with  four  faces,  for  whatever  purpose  we 
assume  it  to  have  been  clone,  implies  a  state  of  culture  of  no  incon- 
siderable advancement.  But  when  we  realize  the  very  great  impor- 
tance and  extreme  veneration  attached  to  them  by  peoples  widely 
separated  from  each  other,  it  is  safe  to  infer  that  from  the  first  they 
embodied  conceptions  the  most  elevated  in  their  character.  Consid- 
ering all  the  facts  now  before  us,  I  feel  justified  in  the  conclusion 
that  both  history  and  prophecy  entered  originally  into  the  concep- 
tion of  these  symbolic  animals,  —  history  of  the  fall  and  expulsion 
from  Eden,  prophecy  of  the  final  redemption  of  man  and  restoration 
to  his  first  estate.  In  this  view  I  have  not  hesitated  to  interpret  the 
Hercules  of  the  Asiatic  systems,  of  the  promised  seed  of  the  woman. 
These  opinions  will  appear,  doubtless,  somewhat  extravagant  to 
many  of  my  readers,  and  devoid  of  sufficient  support.  But  the 
chapters  which  are  to  follow  will  present  much  additional  proof,  so 
that  it  will  be  difficult  to  resist  the  combined  force  of  the  whole. 

SEC.  135.  In  the  tradition  reported  by  Damascius  respecting  the 
"  dragon  "  with  four  faces,  these  serving  to  identify  the  figure  as  a 
whole  with  the  Biblical  cherubim,  the  god  thus  symbolized  is  identi- 
fied not  only  with  Hercules,  but  also  with  the  time-god  or  Chronos. 
It  is  a  matter  almost  of  necessity  to  infer  from  this  fact  that  the 
cherubim  were  in  some  way  connected  with  chronology,  evidently 


THE  TWELVE   STARS   OF  PHCENICIA.  841 

in  this  case  a  zodiacal  chronology.  This  suggestion  receives  some 
confirmation  from  the  fact  that  the  god  Hea  must  be  identified  with 
Chronos  as  well  as  Hercules.  Thus,  as  Mr.  George  Smith  has  well 
observed,  it  was  Chronos  who  gave  warning  of  the  deluge,  according 
to  the  tradition  preserved  by  Berosus,  while  in  the  "  Deluge  Tab- 
lets "  it  is  Hea  who  foretells  this  catastrophe,  proving  that  the  two 
personages  must  be  assimilated  to  each  other.  We  are  not  pre- 
pared at  present  to  explain  in  what  sense,  if  any,  the  subject  of 
chronology  is  connected  with  the  cherubim,  but  we  hope  to  throw 
some  light  upon  this  question  in  the  three  chapters  following.  It 
seems  obvious,  however,  if  Hercules  and  Chronos  are  one,  if  both  are 
associated  with  the  cherubim,  and  finally  if  these  symbolic  figures 
are  to  be  located  zodiacally  in  Libra,  where  we  find  also  the  sacred 
mount  of  paradise,  that  it  is  in  this  sign  we  should  expect  to  find 
localized  some  traditionary  idea  affording  us  a  key  to  the  subject 
to  which  we  refer.  Nevertheless,  it  is  a  matter  as  yet  involved  in 
obscurity,  and  we  pass  it  by  for  the  time  being. 

The  present  section  closes  our  studies  upon  the  tablet  of  the 
"  twelve  stars  of  Phrenicia."  We  have  shown  that  they  had  a 
definite  zodiacal  arrangement,  although  different  from  the  Babylo- 
nian calendar.  We  have  shown,  also,  that  they  exhibit  the  order 
in  which  the  Mosaic  antediluvian  genealogy  was  adjusted  to  the 
zodiac.  This,  too,  was  different  from  the  method  adopted  in  the 
case  of  the  antediluvian  kings  of  Berosus.  Finally,  we  have  dis- 
covered in  this  tablet  a  manifest  reference  to  primitive  traditions 
centring  in  the  Gran-Eden  of  Genesis,  and  especially  a  mystical 
allusion  to  the  cherubim  of  Eden,  that  has  led  the  way  to  the  fun- 
damental notion  involved  in  these  symbolic  animals.  But  we  have 
not  discovered  any  positive  proof  that  this  arrangement  of  twelve 
stars  had  ever  been  employed  for  the  practical  purposes  of  a  calen- 
dar. Everything  indicates,  however,  that  such  had  been  the  case 
at  a  very  early  epoch,  and  that  it  was  the  calendar  of  all  others  to 
which  primitively  the  Book  of  Genesis  was  adjusted.  In  fact,  there 
is  much  reason  to  suppose  that  this  scheme  had  formed  the  basis  or 
centre,  perhaps,  of  an  independent  line  of  traditionary  inheritances, 
differing  in  some  respects  from  those  preserved  at  Babylon.  The 
account  of  Berosus,  for  instance,  respecting  the  deluge  is  evidently 
Babylonian.  The  god  Ilu,  or  El,  supreme  divinity  of  Babylon, 
assimilated  to  the  Greek  Chronos,  appears  in  close  connection  with 
it.  But  the  "  Deluge  Tablets  "  appear  to  me  to  contain  an  inde- 


342 


HAR-MOAD. 


pendent  tradition,  in  which  the  god  Hea  appears  as  chief  personage. 
Again,  the  Babylonian  Noah  was  certainly  assimilated  to  the  zodi- 
acal sign  Capricorn,  while  the  Noah  of  Genesis  must  be  associated 
with  the  sign  Pisces.  Finally,  the  Babylonian  genealogy  evidently 
begins  with  the  cosmical  year  itself,  at  the  dawn  of  creation ;  while 
the  Mosaic,  adjusted  to  the  twelve  stars  of  Phoenicia,  properly 
begins  with  history,  with  the  first  man.  It  will  be  seen  from  this, 
and  from  the  facts  heretofore  presented,  that  in  the  cosmical  year 
of  Babylon  Aries  and  Taurus  properly  represent  the  creation  week 
of  Genesis.  More  than  this  it  is  impossible  to  say,  considering  the 
obscurity  in  which  all  these  matters  are  still  involved. 

We  cannot  conclude  the  present  series  of  studies  without  another 
brief  allusion  to  the  symbolic  element'  that  everywhere  appears  in 
the  cuneiform  inscription  from  which  our  list  of  twelve  stars  has 
been  derived.     If  the  Orientalists  of  a  former  period  were  in  error 
in  making  a  too  exclusive  use  of  the  principle  of  symbolism,  the 
majority  of  those  of  the  present  day  have  erred  also  in  rejecting 
entirely   this  principle.      The  tablet   which   has  been   studied,  al- 
though so  fragmentary,  proves  that  such  a  thing  as  symbolism  actu- 
ally had  an  existence  in  high  antiquity,  and  that  no  greater  mistake 
can  be  made  than  to  ignore  this  fact  in  our  studies  of  the  ancient 
systems.     The  geographical  system  of  Sargon  the  ancient,  like  that 
prevailing  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  world  at  that  period,  was  thor- 
oughly symbolic,   and  was  inspired  by  religious  conceptions.     In 
this  scheme  Akkad,  denoting  "  highland,"  replaced  the  traditional 
mountain,  or  '•  highland,"  reputed  first  abode  of  man.     The  four 
countries  surrounding  it,  located  according  to  the  cardinal  regions, 
replaced  the  four  great  countries  situated  around  man's   primeval 
home,  also  facing  the  four  points  of  the  compass.    As  this  primitive 
happy  abode  was  the  conceived  centre  of  the  universe,  the  divergent 
point  of  all  the  cosmical  divisions,  so  Akkad  was  conceived  as  such 
centre,  and  in  the  same  spirit  all  civilized  countries  were  regarded. 
They  were  centres  of  the  world ;  each  system  was  a  cosmos,  a  new 
creation,  and  the  entire  theory  had  been  inherited  from  the  mount 
of  paradise.     Tradition,  symbolism,  cosmical  and  religious  concep- 
tions, constituted  the  basis  of  that  system  of  which  our  cuneiform 
tablet  was  undoubtedly  a  very  ancient,  as,  indeed,  it  is  a  most  re- 
markable exposition.    It  might  be  said  almost  to  embody  the  entire 
theory  of  the  ancient  civilizations.     But  we  must  now  pass  on  to 
other  topics. 


BOOK  V. 

ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY. 
CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE  PROBLEM   STATED   AND    ITS   CHIEF  POINTS   ELIMINATED. 

SEC.  136.  I  am  aware  that  the  .attempt  which  is  to  be  made  in 
the  present  chapter,  and  in  those  immediately  following,  is  an  ex- 
tremely hazardous  one,  and  that  those  most  familiar  with  the  his- 
tory of  similar  efforts  heretofore  will  be  likely  to  entertain  the 
least  confidence  in  a  successful  result.  The  conceived  possibility  of 
establishing  a  chronological  date  in  high  antiquity  by  means  of  the 
internal  arrangements  of  the  zodiacal  system,  in  connection  with 
the  well  known  law  of  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes,  was  that 
which  inspired  the  labors  of  M.  Dupuis  nearly  a  century  ago,  in  his 
celebrated  essay  upon  "  The  Origin  of  the  Sphere,"  and  a  similar 
motive  appears  to  have  prompted  the  investigations  of  Dr.  Gustave 
Schlegel  upon  the  antiquity  of  the  Chinese  sphere,  as  given  to  the 
public  in  his  recent  and  voluminous  treatise  on  "  Chinese  Urano- 
graphy."  But  it  is  now  generally  admitted  that  M.  Dupuis'  at- 
tempt was  mainly  a  failure,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  majority 
of  scholars  will  refuse  to  place  much  confidence  in  Dr.  Schlegel's 
results.  Both  these  writers  appear  to  be  too  much  under  the  influ- 
ence of  preconceived  opinions,  and  the  fundamental  principle  in- 
volved in  their  method  of  research  has  been  often  called  in  question. 
M.  Dupuis  assumed  that  the  Egyptians  were  the  inventors  of  the 
zodiac,  and  thus  construed  everything  with  reference  to  the  climate 
of  Egypt.  But  Egyptologists  have  now  shown  that  the  zodiac,  as 
transmitted  to  us  by  the  Greeks,  was  not  even  in  use  in  the  Nile 
valley  until  a  very  late  epoch.  Dr.  Schlegel  attempts  to  show  that 


344 


HAR-MOAD. 


the  Chinese  were  the  inventors  of  the  zodiacal  system,  and  thus 
bases  all  his  calculations  upon  the  latitude  and  climate  of  the  Celes- 
tial Empire.  But  the  investigations  of  Professor  Whitney  some 
years  since,  not  to  mention  here  the  labors  of  other  scholars,  have 
rendered  it  extremely  doubtful  whether  the  Chinese  can  lay  claim 
to  this  invention.  For  myself,  in  view  of  all  the  facts,  I  believe  it 
most  probable  that  the  celestial  sphere,  including  the  zodiacal  ar- 
rangement, had  its  beginnings  in  the  period  before  the  separation 
of  races  from  their  common  home  on  the  high  table-lands  of  Cen- 
tral Asia.  Of  this,  however,  in  another  connection.  The  method 
adopted  by  M.  Dupuis,  and  followed  by  Dr.  Schlegel,  is  grounded 
principally  upon  the  supposition  that  the  zodiac  was  the  product  of 
the  needs  of  agriculture,  the  constellations  being  designed  by  their 
periodical  risings  and  settings  to  announce  the  various  seasons  of 
agricultural  labors.  Besides  this,  certain  religious,  civil,  and  social 
customs  and  ceremonies  were^  connected  with  the  appearance  of 
these  asterisms.  In  calculating  the  antiquity  of  the  zodiac,  then, 
such  positions  in  the  heavens  were  assumed  for  these  constellations, 
that  their  appearance  would  correspond  with  the  various  labors  of 
the  field,  and  the  difference  between  such  assumed  positions  and 
the  present  actual  positions  of  these  constellations  was  then  con- 
verted into  time  by  means  of  the  known  rate  of  precession.  Fol- 
lowing this  method,  and  adopting  his  calculations  for  the  climate 
and  latitude  of  Egypt,  M.  Dupuis  arrived  at  an  antiquity  of  some 
15,000  years  for  the  origin  of  the  sphere.  Adopting  the  same 
method  substantially,  and  basing  his  calculations  upon  the  latitude 
and  climate  of  China,  Dr.  Schlegel  finds  that  the  Chinese  invented 
the  sphere  some  18,500  years  ago.  But  there  is  no  certainty  that 
the  constellations  were  originally  designed  to  mark  by  their  appear- 
ance the  various  seasons  of  agricultural  labors.  The  ground  prin- 
ciple of  this  method  is  a  pure  assumption,  and  it  is  for  this  reason 
principally  that  scholars  have  refused  to  place  confidence  in  these 
deductions. 

But  notwithstanding  the  unsatisfactory  nature  of  the  results  as 
attained  by  these  writers,  the  great  importance  of  such  an  under- 
taking if  it  could  be  rendered  successful,  the  immense  service  to 
the  learned  world  which  a  fixed  chronological  date  in  the  pre- 
historic ages  would  be  if  once  scientifically  verified,  must  be  re- 
garded as  a  sufficient  justification  of  still  other  and  oft-repeated 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  345 

attempts  to  this  end,  however  hazardous  they  may  appear  to  the 
generality  of  critics.  For  myself,  therefore,  I  am  willing  to  take 
the  responsibility  of  another  effort  in  this  direction,  and  to  incur 
the  risk  of  another  failure.  But  I  have  considerable  confidence  in 
a  successful  result,  especially  as  my  object  is  quite  different  from 
that  pursued  by  the  two  writers  referred  to,  and  as  my  method  of 
research  is  also  different  from  theirs. 

Primarily  we  have  no  desire  to  fix  the  date  of  the  origin  of  the 
sphere.  That  which  we  seek  to  accomplish  is  in  general  this :  by 
means  of  the  zodiacal  system,  in  connection  with  some  of  the  extra- 
zodiacal  constellations,  in  connection  also  with  the  law  of  the  pre- 
cession of  the  equinoctial  points,  to  determine  approximately  the 
epoch  to  which  the  primeval  traditions  of  mankind  appertained. 
With  respect  to  the  method  of  research  to  be  here  adopted,  it  may 
be  observed  in  general  that  we  shall  not  seek  to  identify  the  people 
who  invented  the  zodiac,  nor  the  country  in  which  this  system  ori- 
ginated. We  shall  have  no  reference  to  the  agricultural  labors,  the 
customs,  the  local  circumstances  of  any  nation  whatever.  Our 
method  will  be,  as  principal  aids,  to  interrogate  the  primitive  tradi- 
tions inherited  alike  by  all  the  cultured  nations  of  antiquity.  The 
primary  object  of  this  interrogation  will  be  to  ascertain  whether 
these  traditions,  many  of  them  at  least,  do  not  INVOLVE  AN  ASTRO- 
NOMICAL REFERENCE  sufficiently  precise,  and  so  nearly  agreeing 
one  with  the  others,  as  actually  TO  REVEAL  THE  STATE  OF  THE 
HEAVENS  at  the  period  to  which  they  all  relate,  thus  supplying  the 
necessary  data  to  constitute  an  astronomical  problem  that  admits  of 
a  ready  solution  according  to  the  ordinary  rules.  Those  who  are 
familiar  with  this  class  of  studies  will  recognize  at  a  glance  that  the 
method  of  procedure  here  outlined  is  essentially  different  from  that 
heretofore  adopted  by  any  writer,  and  that  it  is  wholly  free  from 
those  objections  already  pointed  out  in  connection  with  previous 
attempts  of  this  kind.  It  is  a  very  simple  matter  to  ascertain,  in 
the  first  place,  whether  the  primitive  traditions  actually  do  involve 
an  astronomical  reference  so  definite  and  direct  as  to  reveal  the 
state  of  the  heavens  at  the  epoch  to  which  they  pertain.  If  we 
show  that  such  is  really  the  case,  it  will  be  a  simple  process;  also,  in 
the  second  place,  to  calculate  the  difference  in  time  according  to 
the  known  rate  of  precession  between  that  epoch  and  the  present 
era.  The  underlying  principle  is  perfectly  clear,  although  the  crit- 


346 


HAR-MOAD. 


ical  analysis  and  proper  arrangement  of  the  mass  of  materials 
appertaining  to  our  general  problem  will  be  an  arduous  labor, 
requiring  no  small  degree  of  patience  and  perseverance.  But  the 
foregoing  will  suffice  respecting  the  chief  object  in  view,  and  the 
mode  of  attaining  it.  We  proceed  now  to  the  consideration  of 
the  more  specific  points  involved  in  our  problem. 

SEC.  137.  To  render  these  investigations  more  intelligible  to 
those  who  have  never  made  astronomy  a  special  study,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  explain  here  briefly  the  internal  arrangements  of  the 
zodiacal  system.  First  is  the  important  distinction  always  to  be 
kept  in  mind  between  the  twelve  constellations  and  the  twelve  signs 
of  the  zodiac.  The  two  series  bear  the  same  names  ;  that  is,  we 
have  the  constellations  Aries,  Taurus,  Gemini,  etc.,  and  the  signs 
Aries,  Taurus,  Gemini,  etc. ;  but  the  constellations  are  one  thing, 
and  the  signs  quite  another.  The  constellations  are  the  groups  of 
stars  arranged  in  a  complete  circle  round  the  heavens,  which  never 
change  their  positions ;  and  this  circle  marks  the  annual  course  of 
the  sun.  The  number  of  these  asterisms  is  twelve,  corresponding 
to  the  twelve  months  of  the  year.  The  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac 
are  supposed  to  mark  the  same  spaces  in  the  heavens  as  the  constel- 
lations ;  but  their  positions  are  constantly  changing ;  they  have  a 
retrograde  movement  on  the  zodiac,  due  to  the  so-called  precession 
of  the  equinoxes.  Since  one  series  is  fixed,  while  the  other  has  a 
slow  retrograde  movement,  the  signs  are  not  always  found  to  occupy 
the  same  positions  as  do  the  constellations  of  the  same  name.  At 
the  present  era,  all  the  signs  have  fallen  back  thirty  degrees,  or  the 
extent  of  one  sign,  from  their  correspondent  constellations.  Thus, 
the  sign  Gemini  is  in  the  constellation  Taurus,  and  the  sign  Taurus 
is  in  the  constellation  Aries,  etc.  But  about  twenty-one  hundred 
years  ago  all  the  signs  corresponded  exactly  in  position  to  their  re- 
spective constellations.  According  to  the  ascertained  rate  of  pre- 
cession, or  of  this  retrograde  motion  of  all  the  signs,  it  would  take 
about  twenty-five  thousand  years  for  them  to  complete  the  entire 
circle  of  the  zodiac.  It  may  be  we'll  to  observe  here  that  the  vernal 
equinox  always  occurs  in  the  first  degree  of  the  sign  Aries ;  the 
autumnal  equinox  in  the  first  degree  of  the  sign  Libra  ;  the  summer 
solstice  in  the  first  degree  of  the  sign  Cancer ;  and  the  winter  sol- 
stice in  the  first  degree  of  the  sign  Capricorn.  The  retrograde  move- 
ment of  the  signs  always  follows  that  of  the  equinoctial  and  solsti- 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  347 

tial  points,  and  in  fact  is  caused  by  it.  The  results  would  be  the 
same,  if  we  conceive  the  signs  as  fixed  and  the  constellations  as 
moving  forward  on  the  zodiac,  as  to  regard  the  constellations  as 
fixed  and  the  signs  as  moving  backward  on  the  zodiac.  But  the 
latter  is  the  usual  mode  of  notation  among  modern  astronomers. 
These  explanations,  however,  will  be  sufficient  for  the  present. 

We  enter  now  upon  the  consideration  of  a  very  important  ele- 
ment in  our  general  problem,  in  relation  to  the  following  inquiry : 
At  the  period  of  the  invention  of  the  zodiacal  system,  did  the  con- 
stellations and  the  signs  having  the  same  name  correspond  to  each 
other  in  postion?  That  is  to  say  ;  was  the  constellation  Aries  in  the 
sign  Aries,  the  constellation  Taurus  in  the  sign  Taurus,  etc.  ?  It  will 
be  seen  that  these  suppositions  are  admissible  in  the  absence  of  any 
proof  to  the  contrary:  1st.  All  the  constellations  and  signs  may 
have  corresponded  in  position  at  the  date  of  the  origin  of  the  zodiac ; 
or  2d.  All  the  signs  may  have  been  behind  their  respective  constel- 
lations, as  is  the  case  at  the  present  period ;  or  3d.  All  the  signs 
may  have  been  ahead  of  the  constellations  on  the  zodiac ;  a  sup- 
position which  we  shall  find  to  be  the  correct  one,  although  it  is 
opposed  to  the  usual  impression  among  practical  astronomers.  We 
quote  below  from  a  recently  published  text-book  on  astronomy :  — 

"  When  the  first  catalogues  of  the  stars  were  constructed,  the 
signs  doubtless  corresponded  with  their  constellations  in  position ; 
and  we  can  therefore  calculate  the  era  when  the  earliest  star  charts 
were  made.  Thus,  the  rate  of  precession  for  one  year  (60.24")  is 
to  one  year  as  thirty  degrees  (108,000")  is  to  2149.7  years.  The 
zodiac  was  therefore  constructed  about  two  thousand  years  ago." 1 

This  is  a  very  easy  method  of  settling  the  question  in  regard  to 
the  antiquity  of  the  zodiacal  system.  But  it  is  wholly  chimerical. 
The  signs  of  the  zodiac  are  at  present  about  thirty  degrees,  or  one 
whole  sign,  in  the  rear  of  their  respective  constellations.  Now 
the  author  quoted  above  assumes  that  when  the  zodiac  was  invented 
all  the  signs  and  constellations  coincided  in  position  ;  and  since 
they  are  now  separated  only  thirty  degrees  distant,  the  known  rate 
of  precession  gives  about  2100  years  for  the  date  of  the  ori- 
gin of  the  system.  The  author's  calculation  would  be  perfectly 
legitimate  and  correct  if  his  presupposition  was  correct,  to  the 
effect  that  this  coincidence  in  position  of  the  signs  and  their  con- 
1  Brocklesby,  Elements  of  Astronomy,  p.  99. 


348 


HAR-MOAD. 


stellations  was  really  a  primitive  feature  of  the  zodiac.  But  this 
presupposition  is  erroneous,  as  we  shall  show  ;  and  thus  the  calcu- 
lation based  upon  it  falls  to  the  ground.  We  propose  to  substanti- 
ate the  fact,  independently,  of  the  extreme  antiquity  of  the  zodiac, 
amounting  to  many  centuries,  if  not  to  thousands  of  years,  prior  to 
the  date  2100  years  ago,  fixed  upon  by  the  author  just  cited. 
This  being  established,  the  inevitable  result  will  follow  that  the 
signs  and  constellations  did  not  correspond  in  position  primitively; 
that,  in  fact,  the  signs  were  ahead  of  their  respective  constellations 
on  the  zodiac,  instead  of  being  behind  them,  as  at  the  present 
day.  The  cuneiform  inscriptions  will  afford  us  ample  data  on  the 
point  before  us.  The  following  is  Mr.  George  Smith's  rendering 
of  an  astronomical  tablet  discovered  by  him,  with  the  substitution 
of  the  degree  and  sign  for  the  day  and  month,  according  to  his  own 
s-uggestion  :  — 

"  From  the  first  degree  of  the  sign  Pisces  to  the  thirtieth  degree 
of  the  sign  Taurus,  the  sun  in  the  division  (or  season)  of  the  great 
goddess  is  fixed,  and  the  time  of  showers  and  warmth.  From  the 
first  degree  of  the  sign  Gemini  to  the  thirtieth  degree  of  the  sign 
Leo,  the  sun  in  the  division  (or  season)  of  Bell  is  fixed,  and  the 
time  of  the  crops  and  heat.  From  the  first  degree  of  the  sign  Virgo 
to  the  thirtieth  degree  of  the  sign  Scorpio,  the  sun  in  the  division 
(or  season)  of  Ann  is  fixed,  and  the  time  of  showers  and  warmth. 
From  the  first  degree  of  the  sign  Sagittarius  to  the  thirtieth  degree 
of  the  sign  Aquarius,  the  sun  in  the  division  (or  season)  of  Hea  is 
fixed,  and  the  time  of  cold.  When  on  the  first  day  of  the  month 
Nisan,  the  star  of  stars  and  the  moon  are  parallel,  that  year  is  right 
(normal).  When  on  the  third  day  of  the  month  Nisan,  the  star 
of  stars  and  the  moon  are  parallel,  that  year .  is  full  (has  thirteen 
months)."  l 

The  foregoing  demonstrates  sufficiently  that  at  the  date  of  the 
tablet  of  which  it  is  a  translation  the  zodiac  was  in  common  use 
among  the  Babylonians.  The  precise  date  of  the  tablet,  however, 
is  a  matter  of  conjecture.  It  must  have  belonged  to  the  great  col- 
lection of  Assur-banipal  at  Nineveh,  either  as  an  original,  or  as  an 
Assyrian  version  of  a  much  earlier  Accadian  tablet.  Its  date,  there- 
fore, cannot  be  assigned  later  than  to  the  seventh  or  eighth  century 
B.  C.  This  would  be  four  or  five  centuries  before  the  conjunction 
of  all  the  signs  and  constellations  of  the  zodiac  in  the  same  posi- 
1  Assyr.  Die.,  pp.  404,  405,  American  Edition. 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  349 

tions,  about  2100  years  ago.  But  we  proceed  to  earlier  dates. 
Alluding  to  the  inscribed  conical  stones  to  which  reference  was 
made  in  a  previous  chapter,  Rev.  George  Rawlinson  remarks :  — 

"  The  accompanying  representation,  taken  from  a  conical  black 
stone  in  the  British  Museum,  and  belonging  to  the  twelfth  century 
before  our  era,  is  not,  perhaps,  strictly  speaking,  a  zodiac,  but  it  is 
almost  certainly  an  arrangement  of  Constellations  according  to  the 
forms  assigned  them  in  Babylonian  uranography.  The  Ram,  the 
Bull,  the  Scorpion,  the  Serpent,  the  Dog,  the  Arrow,  the  Eagle  or 
Vulture  may  all  be  detected  on  the  stone  in  question,  as  may  simi- 
lar forms  variously  arranged  on  other  similar  monuments."1 

I  have  already  expressed  the  opinion  that  these  figures  were  not 
intended  for  a  complete  zodiacal  arrangement,  but  they  prove  the 
existence  of  the  zodiac  at  this  period,  being  over  eight  hundred 
years  prior  to  the  conjunction  of  all  the  signs  and  constellations  of 
the  zodiac  to  which  we  allude.  Another  inscription  records  the 
actual  occurrence  of  the  vernal  equinox  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  the 
month  Nisan,  which  would  be  in  the  fifteenth  degree  of  the  sign 
Aries.2  Thus,  this  inscription  goes  to  substantiate  the  existence  of 
the  zodiac  at  Babylon  about  1000  years  prior  to  the  time  when  all 
the  signs  and  constellations  occupied  the  same  positions.  But  we 
are  able  to  demonstrate  a  still  higher  antiquity  for  the  zodiac.  The 
great  book  of  astrology,  dating  from  the  times  of  Sargon  the  an- 
cient, contains  numerous  texts  in  which  the  existence  of  the  zodiac 
at  that  period  is  placed  beyond  question.  M.  Lenormant,  as  here- 
tofore cited,  assigns  this  monarch  to  the  era  between  1900  and  2000 
years  B.  c.  Hence,  over  1600  years  before  the  conjunction  of  the 
signs  and  constellations  referred  to  took  place,  the  zodiac  was  in 
ordinary  use  at  Babylon. 

SEC.  138.  Having  presented  such  evidence  relative  to  the  an- 
tiquity of  this  system  as  is  most  readily  obtained  from  the  monu- 
ments affording  specific  dates,  we  proceed  now  to  show  that  the 
zodiac  really  appertained  to  the  period  of  the  earliest  traditions  of 
Babylon.  In  the  eleventh  chapter  (Sec.  117),  M.  Lenormant  and 
Dr.  Movers  were  cited  to  the  effect  that  the  names  Alarus  and 
Alaparus,  which  head  the  list  of  antediluvian  kings  preserved  by 
Berosus,  are  simple  designations  respectively  of  the  zodiacal  divi- 

1  Five  Monarchies,  ii.  pp.  574,  575. 

2  3d  Rawl.  PL  51,  note  2. 


350 


HAR-MOAD. 


sions  Aries  and  Taurus;  a  fact  that  in  M.  Lenormant's  opinion 
proves  the  zodiacal  character  of  the  entire  series  of  names.  Now 
the  primitive  character,  traditionally  speaking,  of  this  antediluvian 
genealogy  will  be  readily  admitted ;  yet  its  connection  from  the 
first  with  the  zodiac  has  been  established  by  the  two  eminent  critics 
named  above.  To  the  data  here  presented  should  be  added  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  the  "  Creation  Tablets,"  as  discovered  and 
translated  by  Mr.  Smith :  — 

"Stars,  their  appearance  (in  figures)  of  animals  he  arranged. 
To  fix  the  year  through  the  observation  of  their  constellations, 
twelve  months  (or  signs)  of  stars  in  three  rows  he  arranged,  from 
the  day  when  the  year  commences  unto  the  close."  l 

The  precise  date  of  the  original  tablets,  of  which  those  discov- 
ered by  Mr.  Smith  were  only  Assyrian  translations  is  unknown, 
but  this  writer  inclines  to  refer  them  to  the  period  nearly  2000 
years  B.  c.  But  the  exact  date  of  the  documents  is  not  for  us  the  most 
important  point.  They  unquestionably  record  traditions,  which 
were  absolutely  the  most  primitive  among  the  Cushites  of  Baby- 
lon, and  they  prove  beyond  doubt  that  the  zodiac  was  associated 
with  those  traditions.  Indeed,  I  think  it  most  probable,  all  things 
considered,  that  the  Cushites  brought  the  zodiac  with  them  to  the 
"  land  of  Shinar,"  when  they  migrated  from  the  sacred  mount  of 
the  east,  the  reputed  father  of  countries  and  the  first  home  of  man. 
We  have  shown  in  our  first  chapter  that  a  Cushite  civilization, 
probably  anterior  to  that  of  Babylon,  primitively  existed  around 
the  headwaters  of  the  Indus  and  Oxus,  and  it  was  proved  in  a  sub- 
sequent chapter,  that  Mt.  Meru  of  Hindu  tradition  was  really  the 
true  Ararat^  a  name  corrupted  from  Arya-rata,  originally  applied 
to  Meru.  In  view  of  these  facts,  considerable  significance  attaches 
to  the  language  of  Mr.  Richard  A.  Proctor,  in  an  article  on  "  The 
Origin  of  the  Constellation-Figures,"  republished  in  Appleton's 
"  Popular  Science  Monthly "  (Supplement)  for  November,  1877, 
language  which  is  as  follows  :  — 

"  I  think  from  35°  to  39°  north  (latitude)  would  be  about  the 
most  probable  limits,  and  from  32°  to  41°  north  the  certain  limits, 
of  the  station  of  the  first  founders  of  solar  zodiacal  astronomy. 
What  their  actual  station  may  have  been  is  not  so  easily  estab- 
lished. Some  think  the  region  lay  between  the  sources  of  the 
1  Chald.  Acct.  Genesis,  p.  69. 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  351 

Oxus  (Amoor)  and  Indus  ;  others  think  that  the  station  of  these 
astronomers  was  not  far  from  Mount  Ararat  (in  Armenia),  a  view 
to  which  I  was  led  long  ago  by  other  considerations,  discussed  in 
the  first  appendix  to  my  treatise  on  4  Saturn  and  its  System.'  At 
the  epoch  indicated  (2170  B.  c.)  the  first  constellation  of  the  zodiac 
was  not,  as  now,  the  Fishes,  nor,  as  when  a  fresh  departure  was  made 
by  Hipparchus,  the  Ram,  but  the  Bull,  a  trace  of  which  is  found 
in  Virgil's  words,  4  Candidus  auratis  aperifc  cum  cornibus  annum 
Taurus.' 

"  The  Bull,  then,  was  the  spring  sign,  the  Pleiades  and  ruddy 
Aldebaran  joining  their  rays  with  the  sun's  at  the  time  of  the  ver- 
nal equinox."  l 

Whether  the  considerations  which  led  Mr.  Proctor  to  associate 
the  origin  of  the  zodiac  with  the  region  of  Ararat  would  apply  as 
well  to  Mt.  Meru,  the  primitive  Ararat,  I  am  not  able  to  say.  But 
we  shall  find  much  reason,  as  we  proceed,  to  consider  Meru  as  the 
earliest  centre  of  astronomical  science,  as  well  as  of  civilization 
generally.  In  regard  to  the  limits  between  which  this  writer  would 
locate  the  first  astronomical  stations,  it  may  be  remarked  that  the 
situation  of  Babylon,  although  not  exactly  outside  these  bounda- 
ries, was  still  very  near  the  extreme  southern  limit  assigned.  But 
the  author's  statement  that  Taurus  was  the  first  constellation  of 
the  zodiac  at  the  period  2170  B.  c.,  to  which  he  is  inclined  to 
assign  the  date  of  the  zodiac,  has  for  us  the  especial  value  that  it 
disproves  the  prevalent  hypothesis  which  assumes  the  coincidence 
of  all  the  signs  and  constellations  in  position  at  the  time  the  zodiac 
was  formed.  For,  if  Taurus  was  ever  the  constellation  in  which 
the  vernal  equinox  fell,  then  the  sign  Aries  was  at  that  period  in 
this  constellation.  But  we  have  one  other  fact  to  verify  in  this 
connection,  namely,  that  the  Babylonian  zodiac  was  substantially 
the  same  as  ours,  transmitted  to  us  by  the  Greeks,  and  for  this  pur- 
pose we  quote  M.  Lenormant,  as  follows :  — 

"  The  nomenclature  of  the  signs  as  they  have  been  preserved  to 
our  day  does  not  differ  essentially  from  that  which  had  been  estab- 
lished by  the  astronomical  priests  of  Chaldasa  and  Babylon.  In 
fact,  according  to  passages  derived  from  astronomical  monuments, 
and  according  to  the  zodiacal  figures  which  are  found  upon  a  great 
number  of  monuments,  especially  upon  the  cylinders,  we  are  able 
to  establish  to  a  great  extent  the  series  of  signs  as  employed  by 

1  Proctor  in  Scientific  Monthly  (Supplement)  November,  1877.  [This  chapter 
was  revised  in  3878.  S.  M.  W.J 


352 


HAR-MOAD. 


the  Chaldseans:  1st.  The  Ram,  or  the  Ibex.  2d.  The  Taurus, 
sometimes  represented  with  wings  and  with  the  human  head.  3d. 
The  Twins,  expressed  by  two  virile  figures  superimposed.  4th. 
The  Crab,  or  the  Lobster.  5th.  The  Lion,  sometimes  replaced  by 
the  group  of  a  lion  devouring  a  taurus.  6th.  The  Archeress  (god- 
dess Ishtar),  mentioned  by  the  texts,  but  of  which  no  figure  has  as 
yet  been  recognized.  7th.  The  Pincers  of  the  Scorpion.  8th.  The 
Scorpion  ;  it  results  from  a  tablet  not  yefc  edited,  relative  to  the 
movements  of  the  planet  Venus,  which  I  have  had  the  occasion  of 
studying  in  the  British  Museum,  that  they  sometimes  united  this 
sign  with  the  preceding,  under  the  common  name  of  the  'Scor- 
pion,' which  was  then  counted  as  a  sign  having  double  the  extent 
of  the  others.  9th.  The  Arrow,  which  thus  replaces,  though 
rarely,  Sagittarius  holding  the  bow.  10th.  The  Goat,  its  body 
often  terminating  in  the  tail  of  a  fish.  llth.  The  Water-bearer, 
this  figure  being  more  habitually  reduced  to  that  of  a  vase  from 
which  water  is  being  poured.  12th.  The  Fish,  or  the  Fishes.  It 
was  evidently  for  mythological  reasons  that  these  names  and  figures 
were  assigned  to  the  constellations  of  the  zodiacal  band ;  because 
we  search  in  vain  for  any  direct  relation  to  the  labors  of  agricul- 
ture and  the  phases  of  the  seasons  contemplated  from  this  point  of 
view.  We  know  to  what  groundless  conjectures  the  school  of  M. 
Dupuis  resorted  to  find  a  relation  of  this  kind,  and  how  they  were 
obliged  to  place  the  invention  of  the  zodiac  in  an  epoch  fabulously 
remote,  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  time  when,  thanks  to  the  precession 
of  the  equinoxes,  the  presence  of  the  sun  in  Taurus  coincided  with 
the  season  of  the  labors  of  the  field,"  etc.1 

SEC.  139.  Various  conclusions  result  from  the  data  now  before 
us.  In  the  first  place,  there  can  be  no  longer  question  whether 
the  Greeks  were  the  inventors  of  the  zodiac,  as  formerly  maintained 
by  M.  Letronne,  since  its  use  among  the  Babylonians,  at  a  period 
before  the  dawn  even  of  Greek  history,  can  hardly  be  doubted  in 
view  of  the  facts  already  presented.  In  the  second  place,  it  results 
from  the  statement  of  M.  Lenormant  above,  which  appears  to  be 
fully  justified  by  his  own  researches,  that  the  principle  assumed  by 
M.  Dupuis,  and  recently  by  Dr.  Schlegel,  of  a  direct  relation  of  the 
zodiacal  constellations  to  agricultural  operations  has  really  no  solid 
foundation.  Mythological  considerations  were  those,  as  M.  Lenor- 
mant believes,  which  determined  the  names  and  figures  of  these 
asterisms.  It  appears  to  us  that  this  statement  is  somewhat  too 
broad  and  exclusive,  for  evidently  symbolism  had  much  to  do  in 

1  Premieres  Civilisations,  t.  ii.  pp.  68,  69. 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  353 

the  formation  of  this  system.  But  that  which  is  of  the  greatest 
consequence  in  connection  with  our  general  problem  is  the  ex- 
treme antiquity  of  the  zodiac,  substantially  in  the  form  in  which  it 
has  been  handed  down  to  us ;  an  antiquity  which  appears  to  be 
most  conclusively  established  by  the  various  considerations  already 
presented.  It  was  associated  with  the  earliest  traditions  of  the 
Babylonians,  even  with  those  that  related  to  the  antediluvian  dy- 
nasties, and  to  the  creation  of  the  world.  In  fact,  as  was  pointed 
out  in  our  criticism  of  the  "  Creation  Tablets,"  the  Babylonian 
account  of  the  formation  of  the  world,  which  these  documents  con- 
tain, actually  includes  the  arrangement  of  the  zodiac  as  constituting 
a  distinct  labor  in  the  creative  process.  It  must  be  regarded,  there- 
fore, as  fully  substantiated  that  the  zodiac  had  been  in  existence 
some  thousands  of  years  when,  about  twenty-one  centuries  ago,  it 
so  happened  that  all  the  signs  and  constellations  of  the  same  name 
corresponded  in  position.  This  correspondence,  then,  could  not 
have  been  an  original  feature  of  the  system  ;  and  certainly  not,  if 
at  one  time,  as  many  reasons  lead  us  to  conclude,  the  vernal  equi- 
nox fell  in  the  constellation  Taurus ;  for  in  such  case  the  sign 
Aries  would  be  in  this  constellation,  —  in  other  words,  all  the  signs 
would  be  thirty  degrees,  or  one  whole  sign,  in  advance  of  their 
respective  constellations.  Thus,  the  first  among  the  fundamental 
conditions  or  elements  of  our  problem  may  be  formulated  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

At  the  period  when  the  zodiac  was  invented,  the  positions  of  the 
signs  and  constellations  were  different,  the  signs  being  in  advance  of 
the  constellations  bearing  the  same  name. 

It  will  be  recognized  at  once  that  the  foregoing  proposition,  if  it 
is  to  be  admitted  as  firmly  established,  attaches  to  itself  a  high 
degree  of  importance.  It  is  contrary  to  the  usual  impression  among 
practical  astronomers,  and  in  fact  it  is  contrary  to  that  which  we 
should  naturally  suppose  to  have  been  the  case.  Assuming  it  for 
our  basis,  the  following  conclusions  may  be  fairly  deduced  from  it : 

1st.  If  the  signs  and  constellations  of  the  zodiac  occupied  dif- 
ferent positions  originally,  then  this  was  not  the  result  of  accident, 
but  of  a  specific,  conscious  design  on  the  part  of  the  inventor  of  the 
system. 

2d.  If  this  difference  in  position  was  a  primitive  feature  of  the 
system,  then  the  zodiac  was  strictly  speaking  an  invention;  it  was 


354 


HAR-MOAD. 


not  the  result  of  a  gradual,  unconscious  development,  so  to  speak, 
from  crude  beginnings. 

3d.  If  this  difference  in  position  was  a  primitive  feature  of  the 
zodiac,  then  that  difference  must  have  been  greater  than  one  sign 
merely,  or  greater  than  that  when  the  vernal  equinox  fell  in  the 
constellation  Taurus. 

4th.  If  there  was  originally  a  difference  in  position  between  the 
signs  and  constellations  of  the  zodiac,  then  the  amount  of  that  dif- 
ference must  have  been  determined,  not  by  accident,  but  by  some 
good  and  substantial  reason. 

5th.  When  the  zodiac  was  constructed,  it  doubtless  represented 
the  constellations  in  their  actual  positions  in  the  heavens,  while  the 
location  of  the  signs  was  a  matter  of  choice,  and  was  determined  by 
some  other  considerations. 

SEC.  140.  In  regard  to  the  first  deduction,  as  stated  above,  it 
would  be  natural  to  suppose  that  originally  the  signs  and  constel- 
lations occupied  the  same  positions,  it  being  due  only  to  the  law  of 
precession  that  the  signs  had  gradually  fallen  back  into  other  posi- 
tions. But  we  now  find  that  such  was  not  the  fact;  the  signs  were 
originally  in  advance  of  their  constellations,  and  it  is  impossible  to 
account  for  this  circumstance  except  upon  the  ground  of  some 
especial  design.  The  second  deduction  follows  partly  from  the  first. 
If  there  was  conscious  design  in  the  arrangement,  then  the  zodiac 
was  properly  an  invention.  In  fact,  if  the  system  had  grown  up 
unconsciously  from  crude  beginnings,  it  is  almost  certain  that  the 
signs  and  constellations  would  have  occupied  at  first  the  same  posi- 
tions. With  reference  to  our  third  deduction,  it  may  be  set  down 
as  wholly  improbable,  if  there  was  a  difference  in  position  between 
the  signs  and  constellations,  that,  either  by  accident  or  by  design, 
it  should  be  only  one  sign,  or  thirty  degrees.  Passing  to  the  fourth 
deduction  above,  it  is  necessary  to  conclude,  whatever  difference 
was  originally  assumed  between  the  signs  and  constellations,  that 
it  was  not  left  to  mere  accident  to  determine  its  extent ;  some  good 
and  sufficient  consideration  in  the  mind  of  the  inventor  influenced 
his  choice  of  location  for  the  signs.  The  last  deduction  is  almost 
self-evident.  The  zodiac  must  represent  the  constellations  in  their 
true  positions  in  the  heavens,  or  it  would  be  worthless  as  the  basis 
of  a  calendar.  But  the  location  of  the  signs  was  in  a  measure  arbi- 
trary, and  might  be  influenced  from  various  considerations. 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  355 

It  is  necessary  to  introduce  here  for  a  brief  consideration  an- 
other inquiry.  We  have  had  much  to  say  relative  to  the  difference, 
both  in  character  and  in  position,  between  the  signs  and  the  con- 
stellations ;  but  is  it  certain  that  the  signs,  as  distinguished  from 
the  constellations,  have  really  been  in  use  from  the  time  the  zodiac 
was  invented  ?  Before  the  era  of  Hipparchus,  for  instance,  who  is 
supposed  to  have  introduced  some  improvements  into  the  system, 
had  the  signs  been  distinctly  recognized  as  different  from  the  con- 
stellations? Do  we  find  among  the  Babylonians,  among  whom,  as 
M.  Lenormant  holds,  the  zodiac  originated,  the  distinct  recognition 
of  the  signs  as  different  from  the  constellations  ?  If  such  a  distinc- 
tion had  not  existed  from  the  first,  then  the  great  importance  of 
an  original  difference  between  the  signs  and  constellations,  and  the 
various  deductions  which  we  have  drawn  from  it,  must  be  regarded 
as  imaginary.  The  signs  were  not  in  existence  from  the  first ;  only 
the  constellations  constituted  the  zodiac.  But  the  cuneiform  texts 
afford  sufficient  proof,  as  it  would  seem,  that  among  the  Babylonians 
a  distinction  had  always  been  made  between  the  constellations  and 
the  signs.  In  the  first  place  we  have  distinct  names  for  the  months, 
the  constellations,  and  the  signs,  and  these  names  are  never  em- 
ployed interchangeably.  The  Accadian  name  for  month  is  Ab, 
Assyrian  Arakh;  the  Accadian  for  star,  or  constellation,  is  Mul, 
Assyrian  Cacab.  Finally,  the  Accadian  for  zodiacal  sign  is  Zu,  the 
Assyrian  being  the  same.  The  inoon-god  is  often  termed  En-zu, 
"lord  of  the  zodiacal  sign."  At  other  times  the  numeral  30  is 
employed  for  writing  the  name  of  this  divinity,  in  reference  to  the 
thirty  degrees  comprised  in  each  sign,  corresponding  to  the  thirty 
days  contained  in  each  of  the  twelve  months.  The  series  of  months, 
beginning  with  the  Accadian  Bara,  Assyrian  Nisan,  corresponded 
exactly  to  the  series  of  signs  commencing  with  Aries.  This  ar- 
rangement was  constant,  or  intended  to  be  such,  the  first  day  of 
the  month  Nisan  answering  to  the  first  degree  of  the  sign  Aries, 
and  thus  on  to  the  end  of  the  calendar. 

Now,  as  the  Babylonians  had  distinct  names  for  the  signs  and 
constellations  Zu  and  Mul,  and  even  separate  written  characters, 
and  as  these  names  and  characters  were  never  substituted  one  for 
the  other,  it  is  safe  to  conclude  that  they  had  always  made  a  dis- 
tinction between  the  two  series.  Various  other  facts  might  be  pre- 
sented here  tending  to  the  same  conclusion,  but  it  is  not  necessary 


356 


JHAR-MOAD. 


to  give  them  in  detail.  The  Babylonian  astronomers  noted  the 
changes  in  the  stellar  world  too  constantly  and  too  narrowly,  not 
to  have  been  aware  that  the  constellations  had  an  apparent  advance 
movement  relative  to  the  signs  bearing  the  same  names.  But  this 
apparent  Advance  movement  of  the  constellations  we  now  know  to 
be  due  to  an  actual  retrograde  movement  of  the  equinoxes,  carrying 
all  the  signs  with  them.  It  is  probable,  in  fact,  that  the  Babylo- 
nians regarded  the  constellations  as  movable  and  the  signs  as  fixed, 
since  this  accords  better  with  the  notion  that  the  earth  is  fixed  in 
the  centre  of  the  universe,  the  heavens  revolving  around  it;  a 
notion  which  seems  to  have  prevailed  generally  for  many  ages. 

SEC.  141.  Returning,  then,  to  our  first  general  proposition,  that 
the  positions  of  the  signs  and  constellations  were  different  at  the 
time  the  zodiac  was  invented,  we  seem  to  be  wholly  justified  in 
reaffirming  it  here,  and  to  proceed  from  it  as  an  established  fact, 
which  we  now  do,  and  also  from  the  various  deductions  already 
made  from  it,  some  of  them  being  highly  significant  and  important. 

We  have  shown  that  there  was  a  specific,  conscious  design  on  the 
part  of  those  who  invented  the  zodiac  in  giving  to  the  sign's  differ- 
ent positions  from  those  of  the  constellations,  and  we  are  now 
brought  face  to  face  with  the  inquiry  :  What  was  that  design  f  My 
answer  in  brief  is:  A  zodiacal  chronology!  It  ought  to  be  a  very 
satisfactory  proof  of  this,  that  the  Babylonians  actually  employed 
the  zodiac  for  this  purpose.  We  have  seen  that  they  employed  a 
great  cosmical  year,  divided  into  twelve  great  cosmical  months,  cor- 
responding to  the  twelve  months  of  the  ordinary  year.  This  great 
cosmical  year  was  supposed  to  have  opened  at  the  dawn  of  creation, 
and  with  the  sign  Aries.  The  ten  antediluvian  kings,  Alorus, 
Alaparus,  etc.,  were  definitely  associated  with  the  signs ;  Alorus 
with  Aries,  Alaparus  with  Taurus,  and  thus  down  to  the  reign  of 
the  tenth  king,  Xisuthrus,  the  Babylonian  Noah,  who  was  associ- 
ated with  the  tenth  sign,  or  Capricorn.  These  facts  have  been 
fully  substantiated  by  M.  Lenormant  and  Dr.  Movers,  as  heretofore 
cited.  That  these  ten  kings  were  believed  to  have  succeeded  each 
other  chronologically,  and  that  their  reigns  were  associated  with  the 
signs  beginning  with  Aries,  does  not  admit  of  serious  question. 
But  this  our  present  hypothesis  supposes,  that  the  inventors  of  the 
zodiac  were  aware  of  the  fact  which  we  designate  as  "  the  preces- 
sion of  the  equinoctial  points."  It  may  be  thought  that  this  phe- 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  357 

nomenon  could  not  have  been  observed  at  so  early  a  period.  The 
.  inventors  of  the  zodiac,  however,  have  sufficiently  proved  by  the 
very  nature  of  their  invention  that  the  fact  of  precession  was  fami- 
liar to  them.  The  series  of  signs,  as  distinguished  from  the  constel- 
lations, presupposes  the  knowledge  of  precession,  because,- if  it  were 
not  for  this  retrograde  movement  of  the  equinoctial  points,  there 
could  be  no  occasion  for  employing  the  signs  as  something  differ- 
ent from  the  constellations.  The  two  Would  always  occupy  the 
same  positions  and  stand  for  the  same  thing.  Thus,  the  very  na- 
ture of  the  invention  presupposes  precession  and  the  knowledge  of 
it,  as  a  simple  fact,  but  not  a  knowledge  of  the  exact  rate  of  preces- 
sion, which  has  required  the  superior  advancement  and  facilities  of 
the  present  day  to  determine. 

Conceive,  now,  two  circular,  flat  rings,  each  divided  into  twelve 
portions,  and  each  of  these  into  thirty  degrees,  making  three  hun- 
dred and  sixty  degrees  in  the  aggregate.  Let  one  of  these  rings  re- 
present the  twelve  constellations,  the  other  the  twelve  signs.  Con- 
sider one  as  fixed,  the  other  as  movable  at  the  rate  of  one  degree  in 
about  seventy-one  years.  Such  would  be  a  representation  of  the 
arrangements  of  the  zodiacal  band  as  it  circles  the  entire  heavens 
and  marks  the  annual  course  of  the  sun.  It  will  be  seen  that  such 
an  arrangement,  in  connection  with  the  law  of  precession,  would 
constitute  a  great  celestial  clock,  keeping  the  time  of  the  world 
throughout  all  ages.  We  believe  this  to  have  been  the  nature  and 
design  of  the  zodiac  when  it  was  invented,  and  that  it  was  so  con- 
sciously intended  by  those  who  originated  the  system.  But  all  this 
does  not  conduct  us  nearer  to  the  central  point  of  our  problem,  and 
it  will  be  better  to  leave  for  future  developments  the  question  of 
the  design  of  the  inventor  in  separating  the  signs  and  constellations 
in  regard  to  their  respective  positions. 

The  great  and  fundamental  inquiry  before  us  now  is  this :  What 
was  the  distance  primitively  between  the  signs  and  constellations  ? 
The  answer  to  this  question  is  no  less  than  the  solution  of  our 
problem.  For  whatever  may  have  been  that  original  difference  in 
position,  it  has  since  been  wholly  traversed  by  the  retrograde  move- 
ment of  the  signs,  so  that  even  2100  years  ago  the  signs  and  con- 
stellations came  together,  and  now  the  signs  are  one  entire  zodiacal 
division  in  rear  of  the  constellations.  If  we  knew  the  original  dis- 
tance between  the  two  series,  the  rate  of  precession,  which  is  known, 


358 


HAR-MOAD. 


would  give  us  the  date  of  the  origin  of  the  system.  Or,  if  we  knew 
the  state  of  the  heavens  at  that  epoch,  this  would  give  us  the  dis- 
tance at  the  time  between  the  signs  and  constellations,  and  then 
again  the  rate  of  precession  would  enable  us  to  calculate  the  anti- 
quity of  the  zodiac.  But  these  are  the  very  points  yet  to  be  deter- 
mined, and  the  next  inquiry  is:  By  what  means  can  they  be  deter- 
mined? If  we  speak  indefinitely,  and  of  probabilities,  it  may  be 
said  that  the  distance  originally  between  the  signs  and  constella- 
tions must  have  been  more  than  thirty  degrees,  or  the  extent  of 
one  sign.  This  would  have  been  the  distance  between  them  when 
the  vernal  equinox  fell  in  the  constellation  Taurus,  as  is  often  held 
to  have  been  once  the  case.  The  signs  were  then  thirty  degrees,  or 
one  whole  sign,  in  advance  of  their  constellations.  But  no  good 
and  sufficient  reason  can  be  given,  nor  be  conceived  even,  why  a 
difference  of  only  one  sign  should  have  been  assumed  by  the  inven- 
tors of  the  system.  If  any  difference  was  to  be  assumed,  all  the 
probabilities  are  that  it  would  have  been  greater  than  this.  But 
how  much  greater  is  the  question,  and  this  is  that  to  which  we  now 
direct  attention. 

SEC.  142.  The  means  by  which  we  hope  to  fix  the  original  dis- 
tance between  the  signs  and  constellations  have  been  already  briefl v 
explained.  We  propose  to  interrogate  the  primeval  traditions  of 
mankind,  with  the  view  to  ascertain  whether  they  do  not  involve 
an  astronomical  reference  so  definite  as  to  reveal  the  state  of  the 
heavens  at  the  period  to  which  they  pertain.  Our  first  appeal  will 
be  to  some  important  traditions  of  the  Chinese  relating  to  their 
sphere,  which  have  been  collected  by  Dr.  Schlegel.  This  writer 
opens  his  first  chapter  as  follows  :  — 

"  The  most  ancient  division  of  the  Chinese  celestial  sphere,  which 
was  at  the  same  time  the  most  natural,  was  that  into  four  parts, 
corresponding  to  the  four  principal  epochs  of  the  year,  springtime, 
summer,  autumn,  and  winter.  In  these  four  parts  they  traced  four 
great  constellations,  as  the  following  passage  demonstrates :  '  At 
each  of  the  four  cardinal  regions  are  found  seven  domiciles,  or  clus- 
ters of  stars,  which  together  form  a  single  figure.  Those  of  the 
east  form  the  figure  of  a  Dragon,  and  those  of  the  west  form  the 
figure  of  a  Tiger ;  the  heads  of  these  figures  are  to  the  south,  and 
their  tails  to  the  north.  Those  of  the  south  form  the  figure  of  a 
Bird,  and  those  of  the  north  the  figure  of  a  Tortoise  ;  the  heads  of 
these  figures  are  to  the  west,  and  their  tails  to  the  east.'  The  east- 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  359 

ern  part  of  the  heavens  was  named  the  domicile  of  the  Blue  Dragon 
(Tsang  loung)  ;  the  northern  part  was  named  the  domicile  of  the 
Black  Warrior  (Riouen  Won) ;  the  western  part  was  named  the 
domicile  of  the  White  Tiger  (Pe  hou)  ;  and  the  southern  part  was 
named  the  domicile  of  the  Red  Bird  (Tchou  naio).  The.  first  part 
corresponds  to  springtime,  the  second  to  winter,  the  third  to  au- 
tumn, and  the  fourth* to  summer,  as  we  learn  from  the  celebrated 
Tchou-tsze,  who  says :  k  The  Dragon  corresponds  to  the  medium  of 
heat,  the  Tiger  to  the  medium  of  cold,  the  Bird  to  the  maximum  of 
heat,  and  the  Tortoise  to  the  maximum  of  cold.'  "  1 

That  which  is  very  remarkable  in  the  foregoing  statements  is  the 
fact  that  they  represent  the  correspondence  of  the  seasons  to  the 
four  cardinal  regions,  exactly  the  opposite  of  their  actual  corre- 
spondence at  the  present  era  of  the  world.  The  Dragon,  situated 
in  the  east,  and  which  corresponds  nearly  to  our  Virgo,  Libra,  and 
Scorpio,  is  said  to  mark  the  period  of  springtime.  But,  in  fact,  in 
our  day  the  east  answers  to  autumn,  and  at  the  present  epoch  the 
Chinese  Dragon  marks  the  autumnal  season.  The  White  Tiger, 
situated  in  the  west,  answers  nearly  to  our  Pisces,  Aries,  and 
Taurus,  and  to-day  it  corresponds  to  springtime.  But  according  to 
Chinese  tradition,  as  stated  above,  it  primitively  marked  the  au- 
tumnal period.  The  Tortoise,  or  Black  Warrior,  is  made  up  in  part 
of  our  winter  constellations,  and  actually  corresponds  to  the  winter 
season  ;  yet  it  is  located  in  the  north,  with  which,  properly,  the 
summer  should  be  associated.  The  Red  Bird  is  composed  of  our 
summer  constellations,  and  really  marks  the  summer  season,  but  it 
is  situated  in  the  south,  with  which  we  associate  the  winter.  In 
reference  to  this  marked  discrepancy  between  the  traditional  and 
the  present  actual  relation  of  these  four  great  constellations  to  the 
four  seasons,  and  after  enumerating  the  constellations  of  our  sphere 
which  answer  respectively  to  the  Chinese  Dragon,  Tiger,  etc.,  Dr. 
Schlegel  observes :  — 

"  But  this  distribution  is  all,  in  fact,  inapplicable  to  any  known 
historical  epoch ;  for  if  we  trace  the  constellations  of  the  zodiac  in 
a  circle,  we  have  for  the  eastern  constellations,  Pisces,  Aries,  and 
Taurus;  for  the  western,  Scorpio,  Libra,  and  Virgo;  for  the  south- 
ern, Q-emini,  Cancer,  and  Leo;  and  for  the  northern,  Sagittarius, 
Capricorn,  and  Aquarius.  Thus,  the  order  in  which  they  traced 
the  ancient  division  of  the  Chinese  sphere  into  four  parts  is  wholly 
reversed."2 

1  Uranoyraphie  Chinois,  1st  chapter.  2  Ibid.,  ch.  i.  p.  3. 


360 


HAR-MOAD. 


SEC.  143.  Notwithstanding  the  apparent  progress  thus  far  made, 
we  are  not  yet  able  positively  to  affirm  that  those  who  invented  the 
great  celestial  clock  set  it  at  any  particular  hour  of  the  world.  If 
so,  it  was  necessary  to  assume  two  points  upon  the  dial-plate,  one 
as  fixed,  a  second  as  movable,  and  as  having  departed  primitively 
from  the  other.  If  we  consider  the  zodiacal  signs  as  fixed  and  the 
constellations  movable,  then  the  solstitial  sign  for  midwinter,  being 
that  of  Capricorn,  constitutes  our  permanent  factor,  and  it  was  in 
this  sign  that  the  ancient  traditions  localized  the  birth  of  the  world 
and  of  man.  This  zodiacal  division  is  then  the  fixed  point  on  the 
celestial  dial-plate  ;  and  we  must  seek  among  the  constellations  of 
the  zodiac  for  the  movable  one,  which  originally  departed  from 
Capricorn.  The  very  direct  and  seemingly  conclusive  proofs  here- 
tofore introduced  (Sees.  118,  119),  tending  to  connect  the  zodiacal 
"Twins,"  or  Gemini,  with  the  paradisiacal  man,  the  first  human 
pair  in  fact,  naturally  give  rise  to  the  suspicion  here  that  this  con- 
stellation realizes  for  us  the  required  movable  factor  upon  the  dial- 
plate  of  the  stellar  world.  It  may  seem  to  the  reader  a  very  sin- 
gular circumstance,  and  for  this  reason  one  of  doubtful  occurrence, 
that  a  zodiacal  constellation  should  be  taken  as  a  representative  of 
the  first  man,  or  of  the  first  human  pair  ;  and  as  this  point  is  one 
of  such  importance  to  our  argument  upon  zodiacal  chronology,  it  is 
necessary  to  explain  the  manner  in  which  such  a  circumstance 
would  very  naturally  occur.  The  facts  affording  the  basis  of  the 
explanation  needed  here,  and  which  have  been  already  fully  verified, 
are:  1st.  That  the  sun's  course,  in  its  three  phases  as  daily,  annual, 
and  cosmical  sun,  was  taken  as  a  symbol  of  the  life  of  man,  the 
course  of  the  cosmical  sun  answering  in  this  scheme  to  the  history 
of  our  race.  2d.  That  the  antediluvian  genealogy  had  been  as- 
similated to  the  signs  or  constellations  of  the  zodiac,  beginning 
with  the  first  man,  and  ending  with  the  hero  of  the  deluge.  It  was 
shown  in  the  eleventh  chapter  that  the  Mosaic  genealogy  opened 
with  the  sign  Gemini,  which  represented  thus  the  first  man.  We 
thus  understand  why  the  traditionary  first  man  was  often  identified 
with  the  sun,  and  especially  with  the  sun  in  Gemini. 

SEC.  144.  The  evidences  connecting  the  zodiacal  Gemini,  or 
Twins,  with  the  first  man  and  woman,  derived  from  the  Hindu 
legends  relating  to  Yama  and  Tami ;  from  the  Scandinavian  tradi- 
tions pertaining  to  Askur  and  Embla,  especially  in  connection  with 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  361 

the  Accadian  As-kar,  a  name  of  Mercury  signifying  "  the  propitious 
summit,"  or  "  happy  garden,"  and  which  answered  to  Gemini  in 
the  zodiacal  arrangement,  —  these  evidences,  I  say,  embodied  in  the 
sections  just  referred  to,  ought  to  be  regarded  as  sufficient,  although 
other  proofs  will  be  developed  as  we  proceed.  Hence,  we  are  au- 
thorized to  assume  that  the  constellation  Gemini  represented  in 
primeval  tradition  :  1st.  The  original  progenitors  of  the  human  race. 
2d.  The  lower  hemisphere  and  the  winter  solstice.  Geographically 
speaking,  we  know  from  previous  investigations  that  the  birth  of 
man  took  place  in  the  upper  hemisphere.  We  know,  also,  that 
nearly  all  the  ancient  cosmogonies  centred  in  the  sacred  mount  of 
paradise,  geographically  located  in  the  upper  hemisphere.  Hence, 
the  theory  which  assigned  the  origin  of  the  world  and  of  man  to 
the  lower  hemisphere,  and  to  the  period  of  the  winter  solstice,  must 
be  taken  in  a  purely  astronomical  sense.  It  will  be  seen,  then,  that 
we  have  here  an  important,  fundamental  condition  of  our  problem ; 
and  the  only  possible  mode  of  satisfying  it  is  to  assume  our  present 
upper  hemisphere,  where  Gemini  is  now  found,  as  having  been  the 
lower  hemisphere  at  the  period  to  which  these  traditions  pertained. 
In  other  terms,  it  is  necessary  to  suppose  that  the  constellation 
Gemini,  assimilated  to  the  first  human  pair,  was  then  found  in  the 
sign  Capricorn,  marking  the  period  of  the  winter  solstice,  and  sit- 
uated in  the  inferior  heavens.  This  done,  these  traditions  are  at 
once  made  clear. 

While  treating  upon  the  condition  of  our  problem  as  stated  in 
the  last  paragraph,  I  desire  to  place  another  one  by  the  side  of  it, 
at  the  same  time  presenting  incidentally  other  proofs  of  the  original 
assimilation  of  Gemini  to  the  first  human  pair.  No  characters  ap- 
pear more  frequently  in  the  hymns  of  the  Rig- Veda  than  the  Asvins, 
so  termed,  or  "  the  horsemen  ;  "  and  Sanskrit  scholars  seem  to  take 
it  for  granted  that  they  are  to  be  identified  with  the  Dioscuri  of 
the  classic  mythology,  that  is  to  say,  with  Castor  and  Pollux,  the 
zodiacal  Gemini.1  Saranyti,  daughter  of  Trashtar,  "  the  creator," 
is  mother  of  two  pairs  of  twins,  Yama  and  Yami,  as  the  older,  and 
the  Asvins,  "the  two  horsemen,"  as  the  later.  Professor  Kuhn,  as 
cited  by  Professor  Miiller,  thus  explains  the  legends  centring  in 
these  various  characters :  — 

1  Vid.  Whitney,  Orient,  and  Ling.  Studies,  p.  38;  Miiller,  Chips,  ii.  p.  91. 


362 


HAR-MOm 


"  Trashtar,  the  creator,  prepares  the  wedding  for  his  daughter 
Saranyu,  i.  e.  the  fleet,  impetuous,  dark  storm-cloud,  which  in  the 
beginning  of  all  things  soared  in  space.  He  gives  to  her  as  hus- 
band Vivasvat  (probably  the  sun),  the  brilliant,  the  light  of  the 
celestial  heights  ;  according  to  later  views,  which  for  the  sake  of 
other  analogies  I  cannot  share,  the  sun-god  himself.  Light  and 
cloudy  darkness  beget  two  couples  of  twins :  first,  Yama,  i.  e.  th« 
twin  brother,  and  Yami,  the  twin-sister ;  secondly,  the  Asvins,  the 
horsemen."  * 

It  would  be  desirable,  if  possible,  to  locate  these  legends  astro- 
nomically and  geographically,  and  the  Vishnu  Parana  helps  us  to 
do  so  in  both  senses.  The  version  of  these  legends,  as  given  in  the 
Vishnu  Parana  (p.  266),  informs  us  definitely  that  the  Asvins  were 
begotten  " in  the  region  of  Uttara-Kuru"  We  are  able  to  deter- 
mine the  situation  of  this  region,  both  geographically  and  astro- 
nomically. In  the  passage  cited  from  M.  Renan  (Sec.  66),  on  the 
location  of  the  Gan-Eden  of  Genesis,  Meru  of  the  Hindus,  etc.,  this 
writer  observes :  "  There  is  the  Uttara-Kuru,  4  the  country  of  hap- 
piness,' of  which  Megasthenes  speaks."  M.  Lenormant  confirms 
this  view:  "Among  the  Hindus,  the  men  before,  as  well  as  those 
after  the  deluge,  descended  from  Mt.  Meru.  It  is  there  that  we 
find  the  Uttara-Kuru,  veritable  terrestrial  paradise,  the  traditions 
relative  to  which  had  been  collected  by  Megasthenes."  2  But  there 
existed  an  Uttara-Kuru  celestial,  as  well  as  terrestrial.  According 
to  Persian  conception,  the  sacred  river  was  located  on  the  summit 
of  Albordj,  or  Meru,  which  penetrated  the  heavens  in  the  region  of 
the  North  Star.  It  was  traditionally  on  the  banks  of  this  sacred 
river  that  the  beautiful  horses  were  engendered,  evidently  referring 
to  the  Asvins.  themselves.  M.  Lenormant  adopts  the  language  of 
M.  Obry  respecting  the  imperial  gardens  of  Persia,  called  "  para- 
dises," as  follows:  "  These  terrestrial  paradises  represented,  among 
the  Persians,  the  celestial  paradise  of  Ormazd,  .  .  .  planted  upon 
Albordj,  ...  it  was  on  Mt.  Meru,  confounded  with  the  Uttara- 
Kuru  of  the  firmament" 3 

SEC.  145.  Thus,  the  celestial  Uttara-Kuru  was  in  the  region  of 
Su-Meru,  or  the  North  Star,  the  terrestrial  Uttara-Kuru  being  one 
with  the  earthly  paradise.  We  have  now  another  direct  proof  of 

1  Vid.  Lect.  Sci.  Language,  2d  series,  p.  503. 

2  Frag,  de  Btrose,  p.  304. 

8  Vid.  Ibid.,  p.  219.     Cf.  Obry,  Du  Berceau,  etc.,  p.  116. 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  363 

the  connection  of  Gemini  with  the  first  human  pair  and  with  the 
terrestrial  paradise.  The  Hindu  Yama  and  Yami,  reputed  first 
man  and  woman,  being  twins,  are  related  to  Gem-ini,  by  the  ety- 
mology of  their  names,  and  this  zodiacal  division  is  represented  by 
a  man  and  woman  in  the  Hindu  sphere.  The  Asvins,  the  twin 
horsemen,  usually  identified  with  the  Dioscuri,  assimilated  to  Gem- 
ini in  classic  mythology  and  upon  the  Greek  sphere,  are  now  seen 
to  have  been  begotten  in  the  Uttara-Kuru,  directly  associated  with 
the  mount  of  paradise.  Besides  this,  Saranyu,  "the  cloud,"  mother 
of  the  two  pairs  of  twins,  represents  the  primal  chaos,  and  her 
father  Trashtar  is  creator,  and  we  have  shown  that  all  the  ancient 
cosmogonies  centred  in  the  sacred  mount,  traditional  first  abode  of 
man.  The  direct  connection  of  Gemini,  then,  with  the  first  human 
pair  and  their  happy  abode,  considering  all  the  facts  developed 
in  these  studies,  is  a  point  upon  which  no  more  doubt  can  be  en- 
tertained. But  the  "  Uttara-Kuru  of  the  firmament,"  astronomi- 
cally speaking,  is  the  region  of  the  north  celestial  pole,  the  Su-Meru 
of  the  Hindus.  Ample  proofs  will  be  presented  in  the  next  chap- 
ter that  this  celestial  region  is  that  of  the  source  of  the  sacred  river 
of  paradise,  and  that  it  was  upon  its  banks  that  the  celestial  horses 
were  supposed  to  be  engendered.  It  will  be  shown,  also,  that  the 
Asvins,  properly  considered,  are  the  Centauri,  especially  the  zodia- 
cal Sagittarius,  directly  opposite  Gemini  in  the  zodiacal  arrange- 
ments. Lest  this  statement  shall  appear  too  hazardous  in  the  mind 
of  the  critic,  I  offer  here  two  considerations  tending  to  substantiate 
it,  reserving  other  proofs  for  another  study. 

In  the  old  Accadian  calendar  we  have  for  the  name  of  the  month 
answering  to  Sagittarius,  Ab  G-an-gan-na,  "  the  month  of  many 
clouds." 1  According  to  classic  mythology  the  Centaur,  assimilated 
to  Sagittarius,  was  born  of  Ixion  and  Nepliele,  the  latter  name  sig- 
nifying "a  cloud."2  As  previously  shown,  the  Phoenician  star 
Su-gi  appertained  to  Sagittarius.  This  word  Su-gi  signifies :  1st. 
The  front  part  of  a  chariot ;  2d.  Rival,  or  rivalry,  especially  be- 
tween horsemen  with  chariots.3  All  this  corresponds  perfectly  with 

1  Vid.  Norris,  Assyr.  Dictionary,  i.  p.  51. 

2  Smith,  Class.  Die.,  art.  "Centaurus."     Cf.  Bernard,  Die.  Myth.,  art.  "  Cen- 
tatirus." 

8  Sayce,  Trans.  Bib.  Arch.  Society,  iii.  p.  173,  note  2.  Cf.  Delitzsch,  Assyr. 
Studien,  pp.  120,  121. 


364  HAR-MOAD. 

the  character :  (a)  Of  Centaurus  ;  (£)  Of  the  Dioscuri ;  (Y)  Of 
the  Asvins.1  We  are  thus  justified  in  assuming,  provisionally  at 
least,  the  assimilation  of  the  Asvins,  whose  mother  was  Saranyti, 
"  the  cloud,'7  to  Sagittarius  or  the  Centaur,  as  one  of  these  twins, 
the  other  being  Pegasus,  as  will  appear  hereafter.  The  two  pairs 
of  twins,  then,  born  of  the  Hindu  Vivasvat  and  Saranyti,  "  the 
cloud,"  were  for  Yama  and  Yami,  the  zodiacal  Gemini,  and  for  the 
Asvins,  the  celestial  horses ;  these  two  couples  being  conceived  in 
some  sense  in  opposition,  just  as  Sagittarius  and  Gemini  are  in  the 
zodiacal  band.  To  regard  the  Asvins  as  horses  instead  of  horse- 
men is  quite  natural,  as  both  their  father  and  mother  had  assumed 
the  form  of  horses  when  they  were  begotten.  Now,  Yama  and 
Yami,  as  first  man  and  woman,  are  thoroughly  terrestrial  charac- 
ters, and  appertain  thus  to  the  terrestrial  Uttara-Kuru,  or  paradise ; 
thus,  also,  to  the  lower  hemisphere  and  winter  solstice  as  the  tradi- 
tionary place  and  period  of  the  birth  of  man.  But  the  Asvins,  the 
celestial  horses,  are  strictly  astronomical  characters,  appertaining 
thus  to  the  Uttara-Kuru  celestial,  that  is  to  say,  to  the  Su-Meru  of 
the  Hindus,  the  region  of  the  celestial  pole.  We  have  here  another 
essential  condition  of  our  problem.  It  is  this,  to  harmonize  astro- 
nomically these  traditional  and  legendary  characters  and  facts.  But 
we  shall  have  sufficient  space  in  the  present  chapter  to  point  out 
another  condition  of  the  general  problem  before  us. 

SEC.  146.  M.  Dupuis  develops  some  remarkable  facts  relative  to 
the  natal  hour  of  the  world  as  held  by  the  ancient  astronomers, 
and  as  he  cites  his  authorities  constantly,  they  ought  to  be,  simply 
as  facts,  fully  relied  upon  :  — 

"  It  does  not  suffice  us  to  determine  the  positions  of  the  planets 
in  the  heavens  at  the  moment  of  the  departure  of  the  spheres  ;  it  is 
necessary  to  know  the  position  of  the  heaven  itself  relative  to  the 
horizon,  and  consequently  to  the  day,  if  we  would  find  exactly  the 
position  of  the  heavens  at  the  instant  when  the  first  ray  of  light 
illuminated  the  world."  "  This  position  is  given  us  by  Firmicus 
and  Macrobius.  The  last  named  observes  :  *  At  the  moment  when 
the  day  commenced  which  first  illuminated  the  universe,  and  when 
all  the  elements  issuing  from  chaos  arranged  themselves  under  the 
brilliant  form  which  we  admire  in  the  heavens,  —  day  which  we  may 
with  reason  term  the  natal  day  of  the  world,  —  it  is  said  that  Aries, 

1  Smith  and  Bernard,  art.  "  Centaurus,"  also  "  Dioscuri."  Cf.  Whitney,  Orient, 
and  Ling.  Studies,  p.  38. 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  365 

or  the  Ram,  occupied  the  centre  of  the  heavens.'  '  At  the  horizon 
mounted  Cancer  carrying  the  crescent  of  the  moon,  followed  imme- 
diately by  Leo.'  Firmicus  places  equally  at  the  point  called  the 
Horoscope,  as  to  the  east,  the  middle  of  Cancer,  at  the  moment 
when  the  heavens  commenced  to  revolve.  This  astrological  tradi- 
tion upon  the  position  of  Cancer,  at  the  instant  when  the  march  of 
Nature  began,  is  confirmed  by  Eneas  of  Gaza,  who  says  that  the 
Hierophants  of  Egypt,  among  their  opinions  upon  the  origin  and 
formation  of  the  universe,  made  Cancer  preside  at  the  natal  hour 
of  the  world.  This  accords  perfectly  with  the  sentiment  of  Por- 
phyry, who  assigns  the  commencement  of  the  Egyptian  year  at  the 
new  moon  of  Cancer,  at  the  rising  of  Sirius  (dog-star),  which  rises 
always  with  this  sign,  and  which  presides  at  the  birth  of  the  world, 
the  same  as  Regulus,  which  at  Babylon  rises  with  it.  This  agrees 
with  the  language  of  Solinus,  on  the  occasion  of  the  rising  of  Cani- 
culus,  that  the  Egyptian  priests  regard  this  moment  as  the  natal 
hour  of  the  world,  that  is  to  say,  that  they  assign  the  commence- 
ment of  T;he  world  and  of  all  the  revolutions  to  the  beginning  of 
their  great  year,  or  the  Sothic  period."  Of  Sirius  the  author  adds : 
"  It  was  a  paranatellon  of  Cancer,  says  Servius,  that  is  to  say,  as  he 
himself  explains  this  mode  of  expression,  the  principal  star  which 
always  accompanies  the  rising  of  Cancer.  Thus  Cancer  mounts  the 
horizon  at  the  moment  of  the  birth  of  the  world,  and  at  the  same 
time  Sirius  rises ;  both  preside  at  the  birth  of  all  things,  the  one  as 
sign,  the  other  as  paranatellon.  Behold,  then,  the  state  of  the 
heavens  well  determined,  fixing  in  a  manner  the  most  precise  the 
position  of  the  sphere  at  the  moment  when  the  revolutions  com- 
menced." l 

A  striking  confirmation  of  these  traditionary  notices  connecting 
the  birth  of  the  cosmos  definitely  with  Cancer  and  the  rising  of 
Sirius,  astronomical  events  associated  likewise  in  Egypt  with  the 
periodical  deluge  or  overflow  of  the  Nile,  is  to  be  found  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Aryan  Trashtar,  father  of  Saranyu,  "  the  cloud."  He 
appears,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  character  of  "  creator,"  and  accord- 
ing to  the  Persian  legends  he  causes  a  deluge  for  the  destruction  of 
the  wicked.  At  the  same  time  he  is  identified  with  Sirius  as  a  star, 
and  assigned  to  the  fourth  month  of  the  calendar,  answering  to  the 
sign  Cancer.2  Another  confirmation  of  this  tradition  is  to  be  found 

1  Origin,  etc.,  iii.  pp.  175,  176. 

2  Carre,  L'Ancien  Orient,  ii.  p.  342.     Cf.  Benfey,  Monatsnamen,  pp.  54-57,  94, 
95 ;  Lenormant,  Frag,  de  Btrose,  p.  277.     Trashtar,  the  creator,  is  said  to  give  his 
daughter  in  marriage  to  Vivasvat,  the  sun.     This  giving  the  daughter  in  mar- 
riage was  an  ordinary  locution  in  China  for  the  heliacal  rising  of  a  star;  thus  Dr. 


366 


HAR-MOAD. 


in  the  facts :  1st.  That  the  Egyptian  Thoth,  or  Mercury,  presided 
over  the  commencement  of  the  calendar,  which  coincided  nearly 
with  Cancer,  or  the  summer  solstice.  2d.  That  the  same  Thoth, 
as  infernal  Mercury,  appears  in  the  character  of  creator,  and  as 
such  is  especially  associated  with  the  moon,  which,  according  to 
Macrobius,  "  accompanied  the  rising  of  Cancer  at  the  natal  hour 
of  the  world."  * 

The  fact  that  the  zodiac  as  known  to  us  was  employed  in  Egypt 
only  at  a  late  date  does  not  essentially  affect  the  foregoing  state- 
ments, since  all  appears  to  have  hinged  upon  the  rising  of  the  dog- 
star,  or  Sirius,  which  in  later  periods  was  known  to  correspond  to 
Cancer.  For  the  rest,  the  facts  noted  concerning  Trashtar  as  cre- 
ator and  as  Sirius ;  concerning  Saranyti  as  daughter  of  Trashtar, 
as  personifying  the  primal  chaos ;  finally,  concerning  Thoth  as  cre- 
ator, and  as  presiding  over  the  opening  of  the  year,  all  tenjj  to  con- 
firm the  astrological  tradition  stated,  as  being  not  merely  Egyptian, 
but  widely  known  among  other  peoples,  including  the  Aryans  of 
Asia.  But  Cancer,  in  the  minds  of  the  authors  cited  by  M.  Dupuis, 
was  understood  for  the  summer  solstice,  and  the  attendant  heliacal 
rising  of  Sirius ;  this  supposition,  however,  is  in  direct  conflict  with 
the  traditions  equally  reliable,  ancient,  and  wide-spread,  which 
assigned  the  natal  hour  of  the  world  and  the  birth  of  man,  not  to 
the  summer,  but  definitely  to  the  winter  solstice.  We  know  even, 
from  the  data  produced  in  the  present  chapter,  that  the  Egyptians 
themselves,  from  the  remotest  period,  had  associated  these  events 
with  the  region  Sutensinen,  and  with  the  period  of  the  winter  sol- 
stice. Thus,  we  have  here  another,  and  quite  important,  condition 
of  our  general  problem.  It  is,  to  reconcile  these  two  contradictory 
traditions,  equally  ancient  as  well  as  perfectly  well  authenticated. 
M.  Dupuis  has  correctly  seen,  in  my  view,  that  the  summer  solstice 
was  not  that  primitively  intended  in  either  tradition. 

Schlegel  says  :  "  The  rising  of  a  star  in  the  morning  was  termed  its  expansion, 
and  the  rising  in  the  evening  its  contraction.  The  heliacal  rising  of  a  star  was 
equally  termed,  « to  give  his  daughter  in  marriage,'  as  the  sun  seemed  to  conduct 
the  young  star  to  the  nuptials"  (Uranographie,  p.  21).  This  obviously  offers 
some  explanation  of  Trashtar  as  creator,  on  one  hand,  and  as  associated  with 
Sirius  on  the  other,  giving  his  daughter  in  marriage  at  the  heliacal  rising  of  this 
star,  the  sun  being  in  Cancer,  marking  the  period  of  the  birth  of  the  cosmos. 

1  Vid.  itawl.  Herod.,  ii.  pp.  237-240.  Cf.  Brugsch,  Noucelles  Recherches,  pp. 
14,  15,  22  ;  also,  De  Rouge,  Nomes  de  VEyypte,  p.  25. 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  367 

SEC.  147.     It  is  a  very  significant  circumstance  that  a  palpable 
contradiction,  to  be  compared  with  the  one  just  developed,  is  found 
to  exist  between  the  Chinese  traditions  of  a  primitive  character,  on 
one  hand,  and  the  later  Chinese  uranography,  on  the  other.     It  has 
been  shown  (Sec.  142)  that  four  great  constellations,  each  comprising 
seven  lunar  mansions,  had  been  originally  assumed  by  the  Chinese 
as  marking  the  four  seasons  of  the  year,  and  as  corresponding  to 
the  four  cardinal  regions.     The  constellation  of  the  Blue  Dragon 
was  put  for  the  east ;  that  of  the  White  Tiger  for  the  west ;  the  Red 
Bird  corresponded  to  the  south  ;  and  the  Tortoise,  or  Black  Warrior, 
to  the  north.     For  the  east  and  west,  the  lunar  houses,  according  to 
their  modern  notation,  agree  perfectly  in  position  with  the  ancient 
order  of  the  four  great  constellations  above  named.     But  it  is  a 
remarkable  fact  that  the  lunar  asterisms  of  the  Black  Warrior,  put 
for  the  north,  are  now  found  in  those  zodiacal  divisions  appertaining 
to  the  lower  hemisphere,  as  Sagittarius,  Capricorn,  Aquarius,  etc. ; 
while  the  lunar  mansions  composing  the  Red  Bird,  primitively  put 
for  the  south,  are  to-day  located  in  those  signs  appertaining  to  the 
upper  hemisphere,  as  Gemini,  Cancer,  etc.1     The  singular  discre- 
pancy thus  presented  in  the  Chinese  sphere,  which  is  indeed  quite 
a  mystery,  constitutes  the  chief  basis  of  Dr.  Schlegel's  calculations 
upon  the  antiquity  of  the  sphere  among  the  Chinese ;  an  antiquity 
which,  according  to  his  interpretation,  amounts  to  about  18,500 
years  from  the  present  time.     My  opinion  is  that  the  author's  con- 
struction of  the  discrepancy  referred  to  is  fundamentally  erroneous, 
and  that  his  resultant  chronology  is  too  great  by  many  thousands 
of  years,  but  of  this  hereafter.     We  have  in  the  data  here  produced 
an  additional  element  and  condition  of  our  general  problem,  and 
our  space  forbids  the  development  of  any  others  in  the  present 
chapter.     We  can  only  recapitulate  the  various  facts  now  before 
us,  including  those  brought  out  in  previous  chapters,  having  a  like 
reference  to  our  problem,  as  constituting  really  essential  conditions 
of  it. 

SEC.  148.  1st.  In  the  seventh  chapter  it  was  fully  established 
that  the  primitive  traditions  relating  to  the  terrestrial  paradise  had 
been,  at  an  unknown  period,  localized  astronomically  in  the  lower 
hemisphere,  and  connected  with  the  Greek  Hades,  likewise  assigned 
astronomically  to  the  same  region.  But  in  the  fifth  chapter  it  had 
1  Schlegel,  Uranogmphie,  pp.  1,  2  ;  cf.  pp.  171,  172,  etc. 


368 


HAR-MOAD. 


been  shown  that  the  lower  hemisphere,  astronomically  speaking,  was 
put  symbolically  fur  the  earth,  according  to  the  principles  embodied 
in  the  zodiacal  temple ;  but  in  the  sixth  chapter,  this  earth  was 
found,  to  have  been  really  the  traditional  earth  known  to  the  first 
men ;  that  is  to  say,  the  terrestrial  paradise.  All  this  is  perfectly 
consistent ;  but  when  it  is  shown,  as  has  been  done,  that  the  con- 
stellation Gemini  had  been  assimilated  to  the  first  man  and  woman, 
we  encounter  a  difficulty  in  the  fact  that  Gemini  is  now  in  the 
upper  hemisphere,  and  really  marks  the  period  of  the  summer  sol- 
stice. If  we  assume,  however,  that  owing  to  the  law  of  precession 
the  inclination  of  the  earth's  axis  to  the  ecliptic  was  just  the  oppo- 
site of  what  it  is  to-day,  at  the  period  to  which  the  traditions  of 
paradise  appertained,  we  should  then  find  the  constellation  Gemini 
in  the  lower  hemisphere  zodiacally,  and  all  the  discrepancies  other- 
wise appearing  would  be  at  once  removed. 

2d.  The  fact  has  been  verified  that,  according  to  primitive  tra- 
dition inherited  by  distantly  separated  races,  the  creation  of  the 
world  and  the  birth  of  humanity  took  place  in  the  lower  hemi- 
sphere, and  at  the  period  of  the  winter  solstice.  In  all  the  cos- 
mogonies, the  organization  of  the  cosmos  and  the  birth  of  man  are 
placed  in  immediate  connection ;  and  it  has  been  shown  heretofore 
that  the  traditions  relating  to  both  centred  in  the  paradisiacal  moun- 
tain, the  birthplace  of  man,  located  geographically  in  the  upper 
hemisphere.  Assuming  the  same  original  inclination  of  the  earth's 
axis  to  the  ecliptic  as  before,  we  shall  find  a  consistent  explanation 
of  these  traditions.  1st.  These  notions  must  be  interpreted  astro- 
nomically ;  since  geographically  man  was  created  in  the  upper 
hemisphere.  2d.  The  lower  hemisphere  astronomically  was  as- 
similated to  the  terrestrial  paradise,  where  man  was  actually  cre- 
ated. 3d.  On  the  present  assumption  relative  to  the  earth's  axis, 
the  constellation  Gemini,  which  was  put  for  the  first  human  pair, 
was  actually  in  the  lower  hemisphere,  and  marked  the  period  of 
the  solstice  of  winter,  instead  of  that  of  summer,  as  is  at  present 
the  case. 

3d.  According  to  Hindu  legends,  especially  as  contained  in  the 
Vishnu  Purana,  the  Asvins,  or  "horsemen,"  were  begotten  in  the 
Uttara-Kuru,  "  the  country  of  happiness ; "  that  is  to  say,  in  the 
region  of  the  mount  of  paradise.  As  the  Asvins  are  purely  astro- 
nomical characters,  we  must  assume  here  the  "  Uttara-Kuru  of  the 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  369 

firmament ;  "  in  other  terms,  the  Su-Meru,  or  the  north  celestial 
pole.  But  in  point  of  fact,  the  Asvins  must  be  assimilated  to  the 
Centauri,  especially  to  Sagittarius,  which  is  in  the  lower  hemisphere. 
Again,  Yam*  and  Yami,  having  the  same  parentage  as  the  Asvins, 
are  traditionally  put  for  the  first  man  and  woman  ;  are  thus  em- 
inently terrestrial  in  character,  and  to  be  associated  with  the  ter- 
restrial Uttara-Kuru,  or  the  terrestrial  paradise.  At  the  same  time 
they  are  assimilated  zodiacally  to  Gemini,  which  is  now  in  the  upper 
hemisphere.  It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  the  essential  conditions  of 
these  legends  require  a  complete  reversal  of  the  present  positions 
of  the  two  constellations  assimilated  to  the  two  pairs  of  twins. 
Gemini  should  be  in  the  lower  hemisphere,  symbol  of  the  terrestrial 
paradise,  and  Sagittarius  in  the  upper  hemisphere,  corresponding  to 
the  celestial  Uttara-Kuru.  The  assumption  of  the  primitive  in- 
clination of  the  earth's  axis,  as  already  proposed,  would  reconcile 
all  these  discrepancies.  Sagittarius  would  then  mark  the  period 
of  the  summer  solstice,  while  Gemini  would  mark  that  of  the  win- 
ter solstice. 

4th.  We  have  shown  that  according  to  an  ancient  doctrine  hel  1 
by  the  Egyptian  priests,  and  apparently  prevalent  in  various  quar- 
ters of  the  old  world,  the  natal  hour  of  the  universe  was  marked  by 
the  heliacal  rising  of  Sirius,  or  the  dog-star,  with  the  sun  in  Cancer ; 
that  is  to  say,  at  the  summer  solstice  as  supposed.  Now  this  astro- 
nomical theme  is  not  only  in  direct  conflict  with  other  Egyptian 
traditions,  equally  primitive  and  authentic,  but  it  contradicts  the 
Chinese  doctrines,  which  in  every  other  particular  accord  perfectly 
with  the  Egyptian,  and  which  assign  the  birth  of  the  cosmos  from 
the  conflict  of  light  and  darkness  to  the  period  of  the  winter  sol- 
stice, marked  by  Capricorn.  As  correctly  apprehended  by  M. 
Dupuis,  the  original  doctrine  had  reference  to  the  winter  solstice, 
and  thence  to  the  period  when  Cancer  (considering  the  signs  mov- 
able) marked  that  period ;  and  thus  again  our  supposition  relative 
to  the  inclination  of  the  earth's  axis  at  the  epoch  referred  to  con- 
stitutes the  basis  of  explanation. 

5th.  The  simple  fact  that  the  great  Chinese  constellation  termed 
the  Tortoise,  or  Black  Warrior,  was  put  for  the  north  leads  us  natu- 
rally to  suppose  that  the  lunar  asterisms  comprising  it  would  be 
found  in  the  constellations  of  the  upper  hemisphere;  but  in  fact 
they  are  now  found  in  those  appertaining  to  the  lower  hemisphere. 


3TO 


HAR-MOAD. 


The  same  in  regard  to  the  great  constellation  of  the  Red  Bird,  primi- 
tively put  for  the  south  ;  the  lunar  houses  of  which  are  not  found  in 
the  zodiacal  divisions  of  the  lower  hemisphere,  but  in  those  of  the 
upper.  For  the  great  constellations  of  the  east  and  west  no  such 
anomalous  circumstances  appear.  Dr.  Schlegel's  proposed  method 
of  explanation  of  these  discrepancies  results,  as  before  stated,  in  a 
chronology  of  18,500  years  for  the  Chinese  sphere.  But  I  think  it 
is  demonstrable  that  his  conclusions,  considering  the  data,  are  far 
from  correct.  It  appears  to  me  that  the  assumed  reversion  of  the 
inclination  of  the  earth's  axis,  which  offers  so  ready  a  solution  of 
all  the  other  contradictions  that  have  been  stated,  affords  the  only 
true  ground  of  explanation  in  the  present  instance. 

SEC.  149.  Properly,  another  very  essential  condition  of  our 
problem,  relating  to  the  primitive  pole  star,  might  be  included  with 
those  already  presented.  But  as  I  have  wished  to  develop  this 
entire  subject  to  the  reader's  mind  in  the  precise  order  in  which  it 
gradually  revealed  itself  to  my  own  mind,  the  point  referred  to  will 
be  taken  up  in  another  connection,  where  the  facts  relating  to  it  will 
take  the  form  of  a  confirmation  of  what  has  gone  before.  At  pre- 
sent, the  constellation  Gemini  is  in  the  sign  Cancer,  and  both  mark 
the  period  of  the  summer  solstice  ;  while  the  constellation  Sagittarius 
is  in  the  sign  Capricorn,  both  marking  the  period  of  the  winter 
solstice.  Our  assumed  primitive  inclination  of  the  earth's  axis,  in 
order  to  fu!61l  the  various  conditions  of  the  general  problem  before 
us,  supposes  that  at  the  period  referred  to  the  constellation  Gemini 
was  in  the  sign  Capricorn,  answering  to  the  winter  solstice,  while 
the  constellation  Sagittarius  was  in  the  sign  Cancer,  corresponding 
to  the  summer  solstice.  In  other  words,  I  have  assumed  that  the 
solstitial  points,  and  of  course  the  equinoctial,  have  fallen  back  just 
half  the  circle,  or  six  entire  divisions  of  the  zodiac,  since  the  period 
from  which  the  primitive  traditions  of  mankind  were  first  derived ; 
and  it  is  on  this  assumption,  as  a  constant  principle  applicable  alike 
to  each  of  the  conditions  of  the  problem,  that  I  have  sought  to  re- 
concile the  contradictions  involved  in  them.  Upon  ordinary  ques- 
tions pertaining  to  high  antiquity,  the  force  of  evidence  derived 
from  the  ready  explanations  afforded  by  means  of  the  principle 
assumed  would  be  regarded  as  entirely  sufficient  in  proof  of  the 
correctness  of  that  principle.  But  in  a  question  so  very  important 
as  the  one  before  us,  I  do  not  think  it  is  sufficient,  and  shall  not 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  371 

ask  the  reader  to  receive  it  as  such.  We  are,  however,  fully  jus- 
tified in  a  provisional  assumption  that  our  principle  is  correct.  It 
has  been  inductively  established  thus  far,  and  it  remains  to  test  it 
according  to  the  same  inductive  method. 

As  the  reader  is  probably  aware,  all  the  zodiacal  constellations  are 
to-day  one  entire  division  in  advance  of  the  signs  having  the  same 
name;  otherwise  expressed,  all  the  signs  are  one  division  of  the 
zodiac  behind  their  respective  constellations.  This  difference  in- 
volves a  period  of  about  2100  years  ago  for  the  time  when  all  the 
signs  and  constellations  coincided  in  position.  Since  our  theory 
supposes  an  advance  movement  of  the  constellations,  or  a  retro- 
grade one  of  the  signs,  to  the  extent  of  six  entire  divisions,  the 
result  would  be  that  there  was  a  relative  difference  of  five  divisions 
of  the  zodiac  between  the  signs  and  the  constellations  at  the  period 
to  which  the  primitive  traditions  of  mankind  related.  This  would 
involve  an  antiquity  for  that  period  of  about  12,500  years  from  the 
present  time.  It  was  at  that  hour  of  the  world,  if  my  views  are 
correct,  for  which  the  hands  on  the  dial-plate  of  the  heavens  were 
originally  adjusted.  So  far  as  concerns  the  data  now  before  us,  my 
theory,  even  if  admitted  as  correct,  does  not  absolutely  suppose  the 
existence  of  a  completed  zodiacal  arrangement  at  the  epoch  in- 
dicated. It  presumes  simply  the  existence  of  certain  constellations, 
traditionally  associated  with  certain  events  and  with  certain  epochs 
of -the  year,  especially  the  solstitial  periods.  The  relative  positions 
of  the  same  constellations  to  the  same  annual  phases  of  nature  to- 
day suffice  to  determine  the  length  of  the  period  approximatively  be- 
tween the  two  astronomical  eras.  But  the  zodiacal  arrangement, 
when  perfected,  bears  obvious  reference  to  those  very  traditions 
whose  antiquity  we  seek  to  determine.  For  the  rest,  we  must  seek 
further  light. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

PEIMITIVE   ADJUSTMENT   OF   THE   ZODIACAL   SYSTEM. 

SEC.  150.  The  astronomical,  or  properly  the  astro-chronological 
theme  which  is  to  constitute  the  subject  of  the  present  study  the 
reader  finds  in  our  fourth  plate.  It  represents  the  relative  positions 
of  the  zodiacal  signs  and  constellations  which  it  is  necessary  to 
assume,  in  order  to  satisfy  the  various  conditions  of  our  problem,  as 
these  were  brought  out  in  the  last  chapter.  In  the  theme  pre- 
sented I  have  preferred  to  consider  the  signs  as  fixed,  and  the  con- 
stellations as  movable,  since  such  appears  to  have  been  the  custom 
at  Babylon,  according  to  the  recorded  observations  of  the  vernal 
equinox  already  noticed,  and  for  the  reason  that  such  method 
agrees  better  with  the  apparent  aspects  of  nature.  This,  however, 
is  a  matter  purely  optional,  the  result  being  the  same  in  either 
method  of  notation.  In  the  plate,  the  inner  circle  is  taken  to  rep- 
resent the  signs,  —  Aries  being  in  the  west,  at  the  vernal  equinox, 
Libra  in  the  east,  to  mark  the  autumnal  equinox,  the  reader  being 
supposed  to  face  the  south  in- examining  the  plate.  The  second 
circle  is  put  for  the  constellations,  their  relative  positions  to  the 
signs  being  that  which,  according  to  my  theory,  truly  represent  their 
actual  positions  at  the  period  to  which  the  primitive  traditions  ap- 
pertained. The  third  circle  contains  the  names  of  the  twelve  stars 
of  Phoenicia,  which  I  supposed  to  have  agreed  rather  with  the  con- 
stellations than  with  the  signs.  Finally,  the  antediluvian  geneal- 
ogy is  placed  in  the  fourth  or  outer  circle,  according  to  the  ad- 
justment of  the  same  to  these  Phoenician  asterisms.  Our  main 
interest,  of  course,  centres  in  the  two  inner  circles.  As  before 
intimated,  it  is  assumed  that  the  relative  positions  of  the  constella- 
tions in  the  second  circle  truly  represent  the  aspects  of  the  heavens 
in  relation  to  the  signs  and  to  the  earth  at  the  epoch  from  which 
the  primeval  traditions  were  derived.  The  constellation  Gemini 


PLATE  IV. 
77VT 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  373 

was  then  in  the  sign  Capricorn,  marking  the  period  of  the  winter 
solstice.  The  Constellation  Virgo  was  in  the  sign  Aries,  answering 
to  the  vernal  equinox  ;  Sagittarius  was  in  the  sign  Cancer,  corre- 
sponding to  the  summer  solstice  ;  while  Pisces  was  in  Libra,  mark- 
ing the  period  of  the  autumnal  equinox.  Thus,  the  aspects  of  the 
heavens  relative  to  the  earth  were  precisely  the  opposite  of  what 
they  are  at  the  present  day.  Such,  then,  is  the  astro-chronological 
theme  which  we  have  provisionally  assumed  with  a  view  to  sub- 
mit it  to  the  most  rigid  tests  possible. 

A  few  additional  remarks  are  submitted  here  in  explanation  of 
the  ground  principle  constituting  really  our  method  of  research. 
The  various  traditions  anil  legends  pertaining  to  the  first  ages  of 
humanity  are  the  facts  for  ivhose  existence  we  have  to  account.  The 
two  chief  elements  comprising  these  facts  are  certain  geographical 
and  astronomical  references,  recollections  of  which  had  been  inher- 
ited alike  by  peoples  the  most  widely  separated  in  antiquity.  The 
aspects  of  nature  on  one  hand  and  of  the  heavens  upon  the  other 
which  were  most  familiar  to  the  first  men,  forming  in  fact  the 
world  in  which  their  sensuous,  intellectual,  and  moral  beings  had 
their  birth  and  development,  constituted  the  normal  and  producing 
cause  giving  rise  to  the  conceptions  transmitted  to  their  posterity, 
these  being  the  traditions  and  legends  to  which  we  refer.  We  can- 
not account  for  their  origin  and  transmission  upon  any  other  nat- 
ural and  rational  principles  than  the  surroundings  of  primeval 
humanity.  Geographically  we  have  determined  beyond  question 
what  were  the  general  aspects  most  familiar  to  the  first  men.  Such 
was  the  work  of  the  sixth  chapter.  This  element  is  thus  a  known 
factor  in  our  main  problems.  That  which  is  unknown  is  the  astro- 
nomical element.  What  we  have  to  do  is,  therefore,  to  assume 
such  a  phase  of  the  heavens,  in  relation  to  the  geographical  element, 
as  renders  it  possible  to  explain  therefrom  the  origin  and  transmis- 
sion of  those  ideas  which  have  been  passed  in  review,  and  this 
upon  natural  principle.  We  very  well  know  that,  in  the  present 
relation  of  the  heavens  to  the  earth,  it  would  be  impossible  to 
reconcile  the  two  chief  factors,  the  geographical  and  astronomical, 
forming  the  basis  of  primeval  tradition  ;  impossible  to  account  for 
the  rise,  development,  and  transmission  of  these  conceptions,  except 
upon  arbitrary  grounds  or  mere  conjecture.  The  question  for  us 
now  is:  Does  the  theme  presented  in  the  fourth  plate  satisfy  all  the 


374 


HAR-MOAD. 


conditions  of  our  problem  ?  Does  this  scheme  enable  us  to  say, 
Such  was  the  state  of  the  heavens  in  relation  to  the  earth  which 
gave  rise  naturally  to  the  primitive  conceptions  transmitted  to  after 
ages,  as  well  as  to  the  various  doctrines  growing  out  of  them?  It 
will  be  seen  from  these  remarks  that  the  method  proposed  is  the 
only  legitimate  one  in  such  an  investigation  as  this  now  pending. 
The  course  also  to  be  pursued  in  the  present  chapter  will  be  clearly 
apprehended,  although  our  inquiries  will  not  be  confined  to  the 
simple  conditions  of  the  problem,  as  these  were  established  in  the 
last  chapter.  In  fact,  it  is  proposed  to  include  quite  a  number  of 
points  in  the  present  study  beside  the  conditions  named,  all  having 
a  direct  bearing,  however,  upon  the  main  question  before  us. 

SEC.  151.  Enlarging  the  sphere  of  the  present  inquiries,  as  just 
intimated,  we  recur  here  to  a  matter  previously  brought  out,  namely, 
the  location  of  the  terrestrial  paradise  astronomically  in  the  in- 
ferior heavens.  The  fact  of  such  location  was  shown  in  the  seventh 
chapter,  and  no  doubt  of  it  can  be  entertained.  It  agrees  perfectly 
with  that  other  wide-spread  doctrine,  established  in  the  last  chap- 
ter, which  assigned  the  birth  of  man  to  the  lower  hemisphere  and 
to  the  period  of  the  solstice  of  winter.  We  know  from  previous 
investigations  that  the  birth  of  man  was  in  the  upper  hemisphere 
geographically,  and  this  fact  compels  us  to  see  in  this  doctrine  a 
distinct  astronomical  reference.  It  so  happens  that  the  very  con- 
stellation to  which  the  first  human  pair  had  been  assimilated,  being 
the  zodiacal  Twins  or  Gemini,  marks  to-day  the  period  of  the  sum- 
mer solstice.  But  we  take  the  tradition  referred  to  in  earnest,  giv- 
ing it  an  astronomical  interpretation,  since  it  will  not  in  any  sense 
bear  a  geographical  one.  Thus,  in  our  plate,  we  have  so  adjusted 
all  the  constellations  to  the  signs  that  Gemini  shall  be  found  in 
the  lower  hemisphere,  in  the  sign  Capricorn,  in  fact,  which  answers 
to  the  period  of  the  winter  solstice.  This,  then,  as  we  suppose, 
was  the  state  of  the  heavens  in  relation  to  the  earth  which  was 
one  of  the  chief  causes  of  the  transfer  of  the  terrestrial  paradise 
zodiacally  to  the  lower  hemisphere,  and  which  contributed  to  the 
rise  of  that  doctrine,  so  prevalent  in  antiquity,  that  the  birth  of 
man  took  place  in  this  hemisphere,  and  precisely  at  the  epoch  of  the 
winter  solstice.  The  birth  of  man  certainly  took  place  in  the  terres- 
trial paradise,  and  as  it  has  been  shown  that  this  was  located  in  the 
inferior  heavens,  the  two  dogmas  agree  perfectly,  confirming  each 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  375 

other,  and  our  plate  exhibits  the  necessary  astronomical  arrange- 
ment to  coincide  with  them.  Assuming  this  position  of  the  hea- 
vens at  the  period  referred  to,  and  considering  the  assimilation  of 
Gemini  to  the  first  human  pair,  we  see  at  once  that  these  ancient 
ideas  would  naturally  take  their  rise  under  such  a  state  of  circum- 
stances, or  from  the  outward  phenomena  then  most  familiar  to  the 
sensuous  nature  of  man. 

But  we  should  bring  into  our  present  view  another  important 
fact,  which  was  amply  verified  in  the  fifth  chapter,  namely,  that 
according  to  the  symbolism  embodied  in  the  primitive  sphere,,  es- 
pecially in  the  zodiacal  temple,  representing  the  cosmos  itself,  the 
lower  hemisphere  astronomically  was  put  for  the  earth,  particularly 
the  terrestrial  paradise,  while  the  upper  hemisphere  represented  the 
heavens,  more  definitely  the  celestial  paradise.  This  symbolism 
also  perfectly  agrees  with  the  doctrines  just  noted  as  to  the  loca- 
tion of  paradise  in  the  inferior  heavens,  and  in  regard  to  the  birth  of 
man  in  the  same  region,  precisely  at  the  period  of  midwinter.  The 
symbolic  arrangement  here  described  constitutes,  in  fact,  another 
condition  of  our  general  problem,  and  the  plate  exhibits  the  exact 
state  of  the  heavens  relative  to  the  earth  to  coincide  with  all,  and 
to  account  for  the  rise  of  such  conceptions.  The  lower  hemisphere 
astronomically,  to  answer  all  these  conditions,  has  to  be  taken,  1st. 
For  the  earth ;  2d.  For  the  terrestrial  paradise ;  3d.  For  the  place 
of  the  birth  of  man :  while  the  constellation  Gemini  must  repre- 
sent, 1st.  The  original  progenitors  of  mankind ;  2d.  The  period  of 
the  winter  solstice.  Our  plate  fulfills  every  one  of  these  conditions, 
and  shows  the  precise  state  of  the  heavens  relative  to  the  earth 
which  would  naturally  give  rise  to  these  notions.  It  would  be  utterly 
impossible,  I  think,  by  any  other  zodiacal  arrangement  to  explain 
these  traditionary  ideas,  except  by  resort  to  pure  hypothesis  and 
arbitrary  speculation. 

The  causes,  then,  which  operated  in  after  ages  to  transfer  the 
terrestrial  paradise  to  the  lower  hemisphere  astronomically  were 
for  the  most  part  perfectly  natural,  and  our  zodiacal  theme  explains 
to  us  precisely  their  nature.  The  constellation  to  which  the  first 
human  pair  had  been  assimilated  was  then  found  in  this  region  of 
the  heavens,  and  it  marked  the  period  of  the  winter  solstice.  In 
process  of  time,  and  as  due  to  the  phenomenon  of  precession  of  the 
equinoxes,  these  aspects  of  nature  wholly  changed,  the  inferior  por- 


376 


HAR-MOAD. 


tion  of  the  zodiac  became  the  superior,  as  we  find  it  in  the  present 
period.  But  during  this  change  tradition  remained  constant  and 
faithful  to  its  origin.  It  was  the  traditionary  idea  which  still  per- 
sisted in  localizing  the  terrestrial  paradise  and  all  the  cosmical 
legends  in  the  inferior  heavens,  and  the  construction  of  the  sphere 
in  later  epochs  was  made  in  many  respects  to  correspond. 

SEC.  152.  In  the  ninth  chapter  (Sec.  100),  we  have  cited  M.  De 
Vogue  upon  the  twofold  cause  of  all  things,  heaven  and  earth, 
father  and  mother,  light  and  darkness ;  these  operating  uniformly 
according  to  the  law  of  union  in  opposition.  This  principle  applied 
universally,  as  held  by  the  ancients,  and  the  author  just  named 
thus  alludes  to  its  connection  with  the  zodiac  :  "These  twelve  signs 
in  their  turn  are  apportioned  between  the  two  principles,  accord- 
ingly as  they  are  considered  male  or  female,  and  the  same  is  true 
of  the  thirty -six  principal  constellations  which  preside,  some  over 
the  celestial  and  others  over  the  subterranean  (really  the  terres- 
trial) world.  This  entire  celestial  army  is  animated  and  active.  .  .  . 
The  reciprocal  action  of  all  these  things,  their  combinations  and 
antagonisms,  produce  all  the  phenomena  of  the  sensible  world,  since 
nature  is  composed  of  contraries,  and  harmony  is  born  of  the  reac- 
tion of  contraries.  We  might  almost  add,  From  the  identity  of  con- 
traries, since  this  celebrated  formulary  constitutes  actually  the  basis 
of  the  entire  system."  We  have  seen  that,  according  to  the  Chi- 
nese and  Egyptian  traditions,  the  birth  of  the  world  and  of  man 
took  place  as  the  result  of  a  peculiar  union  in  opposition  between 
heaven  and  earth,  light  and  darkness,  which  occurred  precisely  at 
the  period  of  the  solstice  of  winter.  The  same  notions  prevailed  at 
Babylon,  as  embodied  in  the  cosmical  legends  relative  to  the  battle 
between  Bel  and  Omarka,  male  and  female  principles;  a  battle 
that  becomes  a  conjugal  relation  in  the  theogony,  as  M.  Lenor- 
mant  has  correctly  observed.  This  principle  of  union  in  opposi- 
tion, then,  from  which  the  birth  of  the  cosmos .  and .  of  man  took 
place,  precisely  at  the  solstice  of  winter,  was  an  ancient,  a  widely 
prevalent,  and  a  fundamental  doctrine.  It  formed  the  basis,  in  fact, 
of  the  religious  philosophy  of  antiquity.  Now,  in  order  to  realize 
this  primitive  and  traditionary  dogma  assigning  all  to  the  inferior 
heavens  and  to  the  winter  solstice,  it  has  been  necessary  to  bring 
the  constellation  Gemini  into  the  sign  Capricorn,  which  marks  this 
solstitial  period,  and  thus  to  adjust  the  entire  zodiacal  system 


ZODIACAL   CHRONOLOGY.  377 

according  to  this  scale.  The  peculiar  combinations  Jtvhich  a  slight 
examination  of  our  fourth  plate  reveals,  as  the  result  of  such  ad- 
justment, afford  a  striking  illustration  of  the  principle  of  union  in 
opposition,  and  most  fully  explain  the  notion  of  the  birth  of  the 
world  and  of  man  from  the  remarkable  concurrence  of  such  cir- 
cumstances. 

Confining  ourselves  to  the  two  inner  circles  of  the  plate,  the 
reader  observes  in  the  lower  portion  the  constellation  Gemini  con- 
nected with  the  sign  Sagittarius,  by  the  line  a,  b.  Gemini, 
assimilated  to  the  first  human  pair,  is  placed  here  in  the  sign 
Capricorn,  which  marks  the  winter  solstice,  in  order  to  realize  the 
traditionary  idea  of  the  birth  of  the  world  and  of  man  at  that 
period.  Gemini  and  Sagittarius  are  directly  opposed  to  each  other 
in  the  ordinary  zodiacal  arrangement,  being  also  in  opposite  hemi- 
spheres. Here  the  opposition  is  between  the  constellation  Gemini 
and  sign  Sagittarius.  But  from  the  line  a,  b,  in  the  lower  portion, 
cast  the  eye  to  the  line  c,  d,  directly  above  it  in  the  uppermost 
part  of  the  circle,  where  we  have  now  the  sign  Gemini  opposed  to 
the  constellation  Sagittarius.  By  inspection  it  will  be  seen  that 
this  law  of  the  combination  of  opposites  prevails  throughout  the 
entire  circle  of  asterisms.  We  proceed,  then,  to  point  out  another 
one.  Note  the  opposition  of  the  sign  Sagittarius,  marked  a  below 
to  the  sign  Gemini  marked  d  above.  This  is  a  normal  feature  of 
the  zodiac.  But  see  the  same  feature  reduplicated  between  the 
constellations  Gemini,  marked  b,  and  Sagittarius,  marked  c.  This 
law  also  prevails  throughout  the  whole  circle.  Finally,  we  have  to 
note  the  opposition  between  the  constellation  Gemini,  b,  and  the 
sign  Gemini,  d,  directly  above  it ;  on  the  other  hand,  between  the 
sign  Sagittarius,  a,  and  the  constellation  Sagittarius,  c,  also  directly 
over  it.  The  same  law  obtains  through  the  entire  circle.  Here  is 
a  threefold  law  of  the  combination  of  opposites  which  prevails  in 
every  quarter  of  the  system,  as  represented  in  our  plate.  It  is 
either  an  unparalleled  accidental  circumstance,  or  a  most  ingen- 
iously contrived  arrangement.  The  writer  of  these  pages  certainly 
never  contrived  it,  for  he  did  not  discover  it  till  after  the  last 
chapter  had  been  written,  which  determined  the  assumed  adjust- 
ment of  the  zodiacal  system  with  a  view  to  answer  the  conditions 
of  our  problem.  Compare  now  the  tradition  of  the  birth  of  the 
world  and  of  man  from  the  union  in  opposition  of  the  two  princi- 


378 


PAR-MOAD. 


pies,  supposed  .to  take  place  at  the  winter  solstice,  with  the  three- 
fold law  of  opposition  which  results  from  the  assumed  zodiacal 
arrangement  dictated  by  the  terms  of  that  tradition.  The  direct 
relation  between  the  two  is  extraordinary  ;  and  it  is  difficult  to 
avoid  the  conclusion  that  our  plate  actually  represents  the  state  of 
circumstances  which  gave  rise  to  this  ancient  and  traditionary 
dogma  which  prevailed  so  widely  in  antiquity. 

1st.  We  have  seen  that  the  sphere,  especially  the  zodiacal  temple, 
was  a  symbol  of  the  cosmos.  2d.  That  the  fundamental  doctrine  of 
all  the  cosmogonies  was  that  of  union  in  opposition,  like  male  and 
female,  heaven  and  earth.  3d.  The  constellations  on  one  hand  and 
the  signs  on  the  other  were  the  most  appropriate  symbols  of  the 
twofold  principle  from  which  all  originated.  4th.  The  threefold  law 
of  opposition  between  the  constellations  and  signs  as  shown  in  the 
fourth  plate  offers,  then,  the  most  striking  explanation  of,  and  liter- 
ally the  key  to,  that  condition  of  things  in  which  all  these  notions 
originated.  We  see  what  was  the  precise  state  of  the  sphere,  of 
the  zodiacal  temple,  when  first  taken  as  the  symbol  of  the  cosmos, 
and  as  the  basis  of  the  ancient  cosmogonies.  All  considered,  it  is 
impossible  to  resist  the  conviction  that  we  are  here  in  the  presence 
of  a  great  fact,  and  no  fortuitous  circumstance.  It  is  easy  to  per- 
ceive here  why  the  conditions  of  the  problem,  as  involved  in  the 
primitive  traditions,  forced  us  to  assume  the  present  astronomical 
theme:  it  was  the  identical  state  of  the  heavens  in  relation  to  the 
earth  which  gave  rise  to  those  traditions  and  the  conditions  involved 
in  them. 

SEC.  153.  I  desire  to  trace  briefly  here  the  relation  of  the  zodi- 
acal scheme  before  us  to  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  "  celestial 
earth,"  or  "  terrestrial  heaven,"  as  developed  in  the  three  chapters 
devoted  to  this  subject.  The  primitive  connection  of  the  celestial 
earth  with  the  mount  of  paradise,  from  whence  the  ideas  involved 
in  it  had  been  traditionally  derived  by  the  nations  of  antiquity,  was 
fully  established  in  the  studies  referred  to.  At  the  base  the  notion 
was  that  of  a  heaven  -j-  earth  ;  or  an  earth  divided  off  in  the  manner 
of  the  heavens,  according  to  the  cardinal  regions,  and  placed  in 
direct  relation  to  a  certain  celestial  space,  of  which  the  terrestrial 
was  esteemed  a  reproduction,  or  express  imitation.  All  things  on 
the  earth  were  held  to  be  copies  of  things  celestial,  from  which  they 
were  supposed  to  be  derived  as  their  original.  As  before  remarked, 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  379 

actually  the  primitive  celestial  earth  was  the  paradisiacal  mountain 
itself,  the  first  abode  of  man.  But  it  was  shown  in  the  seventh 
chapter  that  both  had  been  transferred  astronomically  to  the  lower 
hemisphere  in  subsequent  tradition,  an  explanation  of  which  fact 
was  submitted  in  previous  chapters,  and  particularly  in  the  very 
last  section.  Again,  with  the  first  human  pair  the  constellation 
Gemini  had  been  identified ;  and  the  birth  of  this  original  cosmos 
had  been  assigned  to  the  period  of  the  winter  solstice.  If,  now,  we 
compare  these  notions  of  a  "celestial  earth,"  together  with  the 
other  data  connected  with  it,  with  the  astronomical  theme  offered 
in  our  plate,  it  will  be  impossible  not  to  recognize  at  once  the  vari- 
ous and  striking  analogies  existing  between  the  two  orders  of  ideas. 
Their  identity  in  origin  can  hardly  be  doubted.  It  must  have  been 
this  zodiacal  scheme,  and  no  other,  that  gave  rise  alike  to  the  funda- 
mental doctrine  of  union  in  opposition,  and  to  the  notion  that  all 
things  on  earth  were  reproductions  of  heavenly  originals.  The 
"  celestial  earth,"  in  fact,  was  only  the  completed  cosmos,  both 
being  produced  from  the  operations  of  one  and  the  same  law; 
namely,  that  so  ably  exposed  to  us  by  M.  De  Vogue,  and  so  per- 
fectly embodied  in  the  zodiacal  arrangement  before  us.  The  two 
principles,  male  and  female.,  heaven  and  earth,  light  and  darkness, 
the  upper  and  lower  hemisphere,  —  these  two  principles,  I  say, 
whose  inherent  and  fundamental  union  in  opposition  was  the  ground 
thought  of  all,  are  perfectly  symbolized  in  the  constellations  and 
signs,  under  the  peculiar  method  of  grouping  them  exhibited  in  our 
plate.  No  contrivance  could  more  significantly  represent  to  the 
eye  those  notions  which  constituted  the  basis  of  the  cosmical  theo- 
ries of  antiquity.  But  we  return  now  to  a  consideration  of  the  main 
conditions  of  onr  problem,  some  of  which  have  been  noticed  already 
in  the  present  study. 

All  that  has  to  be  done  to  realize  the  Egyptian  tradition  relative 
to  the  natal  hour  of  the  world,  at  the  same  time  to  reconcile  the 
two  versions  of  it  as  presented  in  the  last  chapter,  is  simply  to 
change  our  method  of  notation,  considering  the  signs  as  movable, 
instead  of  the  constellations;  and  then  to  assume  the  same  amount 
of  precession,  as  done  in  the  scheme  represented  in  the  fourth  plate. 
In  such  case,  we  transfer  the  sign  Cancer  to  the  position  of  Capri- 
corn, marking  the  winter  solstice ;  and  the  sign  Capricorn  to  the 
position  of  Cancer,  marking  the  period  of  the  summer  solstice. 


380  HAR-MOAD. 

We  thus  harmonize  the  traditions  derived  from  the  classic  authors, 
respecting  the  natal  hour  of  the  universe,  with  those  of  the  monu- 
ments, which  localized  the  organization  of  the  world  in  the  region 
of  Sutensinen,  when  Osiris,  symbol  of  the  life  of  humanity,  is 
manifested  to  the  light.  It  was  obviously  to  the  period  of  the  win- 
ter solstice  that  both  traditions  referred ;  and  M.  Dupuis  was  per- 
fectly correct  in  adopting  this  view.  Thus  understood,  the  Egyp- 
tian and  Chinese  traditions  become  almost  identical.  This  leads  us 
to  notice  briefly  the  marked  discrepancy  existing  between  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  Chinese  and  their  uranography,  to  which  reference  was 
made  in  the  last  study. 

SEC.  154.  The  four  great  constellations  of  the  Chinese  sphere, 
each  composed  of  seven  lunar  mansions,  each  put  for  one  of  the 
four  cardinal  regions,  are  very  properly  regarded  by  Dr.  Schlegel  as 
primitive;  as  appertaining  to  the  earliest  epochs.  The  constella- 
tion of  the  Red-Bird,  as  has  been  seen,  was  located  traditionally  in 
the  south  ;  and  it  is  remarkable  that  it  answers  to  our  Gemini,  Can- 
cer, etc.,  at  present  in  the  upper  hemisphere.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Tortoise,  otherwise  termed  the  Black- Warrior,  was  traditionally 
assigned  to  the  north ;  while  it  is  made  up  of  our  Sagittarius,  Aqua- 
rius, etc.,  which  appertain  to  the  lower  hemisphere.  In  accordance 
with  these  facts,  it  seems  that  Chinese  astronomers  associate  the 
south  with  summer,  although  the  sun  at  this  season  is  in  the  north ; 
and  likewise,  that  they  associate  the  north  with  winter,  notwithstand- 
ing the  sun  is  then  in  the  south.  But  there  is  much  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  this  habit  of  thought  was  not  primitive ;  that  it  originated 
rather  in  the  anomalous  connection  of  asterisms  appertaining  to  the 
upper  hemisphere  with  the  great  constellation  of  the  south,  or  the 
Red-Bird ;  and  so  in  reference  to  the  Black-Warrior  put  for  the  south, 
really  composed  of  asterisms,  many  of  them  belonging  to  the  inferior 
heavens.  It  is  worthy  of  especial  note  here  that  the  Chinese  regard 
the  Red-Bird  put  for  the  south  as  a  Phoenix ;  and  this  circumstance 
adds  force  to  the  suggestion  which  would  identify  the  Chinese 
Phoenix  with  the  Bennen,  or  Phoenix,  located  by  the  Egyptians  in 
the  mystical  region  of  Sutensinen,  in  whose  great  nest  the  sun  was 
supposed  to  renew  itself  at  the  period  of  midwinter.  If  such  iden- 
tification be  admitted,  then  the  Red-Bird  located  in  the  south  an- 
swered likewise,  primitively,  to  the  sun  in  the  south,  or  in  the  lower 
hemisphere.  The  difficulty  then  would  be  found  in  the  fact  that 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  381 

this  asterism  is  made  up  of  our  Gemini,  Cancer,  etc.r  which  at  pre- 
sent are  found  in  the  upper  hemisphere.  On  the  whole,  I  believe 
the  position  of  the  heavens  as  exhibited  in  our  fourth  plate  offers 
the  true  explanation  of  these  contradictions.  The  asterism  termed 
the  Red-Bird  had  its  origin  at  the  period  when  the  constellation 
Gemini  was  found  in  the  sign  Capricorn,  marking  thus  the  period 
of  the  winter  solstice. 

We  turn  attention  briefly  to  the  great  constellation  of  the  north, 
the  Tortoise,  composed  of  our  Sagittarius,  Aquarius,  etc.  Assigning 
this  asterism  to  the  same  period  as  before  for  its  origin,  we  should 
find  Sagittarius,  Aquarius,  etc.,  in  the  upper  hemisphere,  as  seen  in 
the  plate.  I  think  it  more  than  probable  that  we  should  recognize 
here  some  primitive  connection  of  ideas  with  the  cosmical  Tortoise, 
conceived  by  the  Chinese  as  having  upon  its  back  the  image  of  the 
eight  celestial  regions  and  of  the  seven  stars  of  the  chariot,  the 
legend  relating  to  which  was  produced  in  a  previous  chapter.  But 
more  important  for  us  here  is  the  fact,  as  abundantly  established  by 
Dr.  Schlegel,  that  the  constellation  of  the  east,  or  the  Blue-Dragon, 
was  held  traditionally  to  represent  the  vernal  equinox.1  It  will  be 
readily  perceived  that  this  tradition  supposes  a  complete  reversion 
of  all  the  seasons  as  compared  with  the  present  age  of  the  world ; 
and  yet  our  plate  exhibits  an  astronomical  theme  which  implies 
just  such  a  state  of  things.  Thus,  it  must  be  admitted,  I  think, 
that  the  hypothesis  assumed  by  us,  relative  to  the  primitive  position 
of  the  constellations  of  the  zodiac,  affords  a  ready  solution  of  the 
difficulties  referred  to  as  pertaining  to  Chinese  uranography. 

SEC.  155.  We  proceed  now  to  consider  the  Hindu  legends  relat- 
ing to  the  two  pairs  of  twins,  offspring  of  Vivasvat.and  Saranyu. 
The  fact  has  been  often  stated  in  previous  studies  that  the  mount 
of  paradise  was  supposed  to  unite  the  heavens  and  earth.  Some- 
times this  sacred  locality  was  conceived  as  an  immense  conical  hill ; 
but  at  others,  as  a  vast  column.  The  summit,  in  either  case,  was 
held  to  penetrate  the  heavens  in  the  region  of  Su-Meru,  the  celes- 
tial pole ;  and  this  region  was  taken  for  the  celestial  paradise,  united 
thus  to  that  of  men  by  means  of  the  sacred  mount.  It  was  fully 
shown  in  the  last  chapter  that  both  pairs  of  twins  were  directly  as- 
sociated with  this  mountain.  Yama  and  Yami,  the  first  pair,  were 
the  reputed  first  man  and  woman ;  and  their  connection  with 
1  Vid.  Uranographic  Chinois,  pp.  56-58. 


382 

Gemini,  or  the  "  Twins,"  is  placed  beyond  doubt.  As  for  the  second 
pair,  the  Asvins,  the  Vishnu  Parana  proves  that  they  were  begotten 
in  the  region  of  Uttara-Kuru,  evidently  the  Uttara-Kuru  celestial, 
since  they  are  purely  astronomical  characters.  This  celestial  region 
was  that  penetrated  by  the  summit  of  the  sacred  mount,  the  Meru 
of  the  Hindus,  Albordj  of  the  Persians.  With  these  facts  in  mind, 
it  is  important  to  note  this  text  from  the  Zend-Avesta:  ?'  I  invoke, 
I  celebrate  the  divine  summit,  source  of  waters,  and  the  water  given 
by  Mazda,"  to  which  M.  Carrd  adds  the  note :  "  This  source  is  the 
Arduissur  (or  Avanda)  at  the  summit  of  Albordj,  from  whence 
issue  all  the  waters  that  flow  upon  the  earth."  l  To  these  extracts, 
we  must  add  still  another,  cited  by  Professor  Benfey  from  an  an- 
cient author  as  a  comment  upon  the  foregoing  text  from  the  Avesta : 
"The  divine  Burga  (Albordj),  Ized  of  women,  whose  nature  is 
water ;  it  is  the  source  of  generations.  It  is  the  navel  of  waters, 
because  upon  it  is  the  source  of  the  river  Avanda,  from  which  the 
beautiful  horses  were  generated."2  Thus,  the  Asvins  are  begotten 
in  the  celestial  Uttara-Kuru,  identical  with  the  source  of  waters, 
from  which  the  beautiful  horses  were  generated.  Connect  with 
these  data  the  fact  well  known  that  the  very  name  Pegasus,  applied 
to  the  celestial  mare,  has  the  sense  of  "  source  of  waters,"  since  she 
was  supposed  to  have  been  born  near  the  source  of  Oceanus.3 

The  foregoing  statements  sufficiently  justify  us  in  identifying  the 
flying  horse,  Pegasus,  as  one  of  the  Asvins ;  and  the  proofs  intro- 
duced in  the  last  chapter  tend  equally  to  connect  Sagittarius,  or  the 
Centaurus,  with  the  other.  The  objection  that  these  are  horses, 
and  not  horsemen,  as  the  term  Asvins  denotes,  can  have  but  little 
force ;  for  the  Asvins  are  begotten  by  Vivasvat  and  Saranyu,  both 
having  assumed  the  form  of  horses  (Vish.  Puran.,  p.  266).  If,  now, 
we  examine  the  astronomical  theme  exhibited  in  the  fourth  plate, 
it  will  not  be  difficult  to  recognize  its  perfect  accord  with  all  the 
data  now  established  relating  to  the  two  pairs  of  twins.  The  con- 
stellation Gemini,  assimilated  to  Yama  and  Yami  as  first  man  and 
woman,  is  found  in  the  lower  hemisphere,  where  we  are  to  locate 
the  terrestrial  paradise,  or  Uttara-Kuru.  Sagittarius  is  found  in 
the  upper  hemisphere  in  that  zodiacal  position  which  best  answers 

1  V Ancien  Orient,  t.  ii.  p.  341. 

2  Mnnatsnamen,  pp.  208,  211. 

8  Smith's  Class.  Die.,  art.  "Pegasus.'* 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  383 

to  the  Uttara-Knru  celestial.  In  point  of  fact,  Sagittarius  is  lo- 
cated upon  the  borders  of  the  milky  way,  which  was  really  the  sacred 
river  from  which  the  beautiful  horses  were  born  ;  but  this  is  a  point 
to  be  verified  in  the  next  chapter.  We  merely  assume  it  now,  in 
o*rder  to  complete  our  explanation  of  these  legends. 

It  is  proper  to  remark  here  that  all  Sanskrit  scholars  concede  the 
difficulties  to  be  encountered  in  a  satisfactory  interpretation  of  the 
legends  relating  to  the  Asvins.  For  the  most  part,  their  character 
has  been  viewed  with  reference  simply  to  the  diurnal  aspects  of 
nature.  They  evidently  relate  to  the  sun,  as  evinced  by  their  fre- 
quent connection  with  chariots,  that  is,  the  chariots  of  the  sun. 
Now  the  sun-god  really  involves  three  phases  of  character,  namely, 
the  daily,  annual,  and  cosmical ;  and  the  notion  of  opposition,  so 
fundamental  in  that  of  both  pairs  of  twins,  actually  underlies  all 
these  phases.  There  is  the  opposition  between  day  and  night,  sum- 
mer and  winter,  and  so  of  the  primordial  night  from  which  the  first 
light  is  born.  In  all,  also,  there  is  the  notion  of  union;  hence 
union  in  opposition.  Finally,  as  regards  the  Asvins,  their  reference 
to  the  diurnal  phase  of  nature  is  generally  admitted;  Professor 
Kuhn  has  shown  that  they  have  a  cosmical  import,  since  their 
mother  is  the  dark  "  storm-cloud  "  representing  chaos  ;  and  for  the 
annual  phase,  I  believe  the  facts  developed  in  these  researches  will 
be  regarded  as  conclusive.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  fourth  plate 
accurately  represents  the  state  of  the  heavens  when  all  these 
legends  had  their  birth. 

SEC.  156.  Thus  far  in  the  present  study  we  have  been  mainly  oc- 
cupied with  the  attempt  to  show  that  the  astronomical  theme  before 
us  actually  fulfills  in  a  most  satisfactory  manner  all  the  conditions  of 
the  chronological  problem  which  were  established  in  the  last  chap- 
ter. But  in  addition  to  this,  we  have  shown  the  existence  of  several 
remarkable  features,  as  involved  in  our  assumed  zodiacal  arrange- 
ment, that  seemed  to  explain  the  origin  of  some  of  the  fundamental 
doctrines  pertaining  to  the  cosmical  and  religious  philosophy  of 
antiquity.  We  now  turn  attention  to  matters  less  general  in  their 
bearing,  but  which  will  afford  not  less  striking  proofs,  tending  to 
the  support  of  our  general  hypothesis,  all  connected  with  the  zodia- 
cal scheme  before  us. 

In  the  tablets  of  the  twelve  stars  of  Phoenicia,  we  found  the  star 
Al-lap,  or  the  Taurus,  put  for  the  country  of  the  east,  and  the  star 


384 


HAR-MOAD. 


Lab-a,  or  Aries,  for  the  country  of  the  west.  These  points  of  the 
compass  being  directly  opposite,  it  was  necessary,  in  order  to  real- 
ize such  an  arrangement,  to  conceive  the  Taurus  as  located  in  Libra, 
formerly  the  Pincers  of  Scorpio.  This  called  to  mind  the  artistic 
representations  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  taurus,  in  which  a  scorpion  ts 
uniformly  seen  attacking  the  generative  organs  of  the  victim.  The 
first  circumstance  gave  rise  to  the  suspicion  that  there  was  a  mys- 
tical allusion,  on  the  part  of  the  scribe,  to  the  cherubim  placed  at 
the  east  of  the  Garden  of  Eden  ;  especially  as  the  sacred  mount  was 
located  zodiacally  in  Libra.  In  the  chapter  devoted  to  the  subject 
of  these  symbolic  figures,  the  arrangement  of  the  scribe  and  the 
representations  upon  the  art  monuments  contributed  essentially  to 
the  discovery  of  the  fundamental  notion  involved  in  the  cherubim. 
But  this  direct  association  of  the  Taurus  with  Libra  seemed  quite 
arbitrary,  and  wholly  the  result  of  a  symbolical  conception.  There 
was  not  the  slightest  suspicion  at  the  time  that  any  such  relation 
had  ever  actually  existed.  However,  in  our  attempt  to  ascertain 
the  astronomical  period  to  which  the  primitive  traditions  of  the 
world  pertained,  including  those  relating  to  the  Garden  of  Eden, 
we  have  been  led  to  assume  the  zodiacal  scheme  now  being  studied 
as  accurately  representing  the  state  of  the  heavens  at  that  epoch. 
It  must  be  admitted,  I  think,  as  somewhat  remarkable  that  we  find 
here  the  constellation  Libra  in  the  sign  Taurus,  indicating  thus  a 
direct,  primitive  association  of  these  two  zodiacal  divisions.  It  will 
be  seen  at  once  that  this  fact  affords  a  complete  explanation,  as  well 
as  an  important  confirmation,  of  our  theory  respecting  the  funda- 
mental import  of  the  cherubic  animals,  as  developed  in  Sec.  130. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  data  there  presented  serve  powerfully  to 
support  the  hypothesis  that  our  fourth  plate  actually  represents  the 
astronomical  condition  of  things  from  which  the  traditions  of  Eden 
must  be  dated.  In  a  word,  the  two  propositions  explain  and  sup- 
port each  other. 

But  another  coincidence,  not  less  striking  than  the  one  just  dis- 
covered, is  the  fact  that,  according  to  our  plate,  the  constellation 
Scorpio  was  found  in  the  sign  Gemini  at  the  period  to  which  we  sup- 
pose the  primeval  traditions  of  the  world  pertain.  Gemini  repre- 
sents, of  course,  the  first  man  and  woman  according  to  the  abundant 
proofs  heretofore  presented.  As  regards  Scorpio,  recall  here  the 
ideas  found  centring  in  the  two  signs  Libra  and  Scorpio  in  the  chap- 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  385 

ter  on  the  Cherubim.  Thus,  it  is  during  the  sun's  passage  through 
Scorpio,  according  to  Egyptian  tradition,  that  Typhon  kills  Osiris, 
or  the  god  with  the  head  of  an  ox.  To  this  must  be  added  the 
fact,  not  mentioned  in  the  twelfth  chapter,  of  the  definite  associa- 
tion of  Dan  with  the  same  sign  in  Jacob's  last  vision,  thus:  "Dan 
shall  be  a  serpent  by  the  way,  an  adder  in  the  path,  that  biteth  the 
horse's  heels"  (Gen.  xlix.  17).  The  word  for  "serpent"  here  is 
the  Hebrew  Na-khash,  the  same  as  applied  to  the  serpent  of  Eden  ; 
and  it  is  well  known  that  the  serpent  was  often  substituted  for  the 
scorpion  in  the  zodiac.  Now,  according  to  our  astronomical  theme, 
the  constellation  Scorpio,  or  serpent,  was  found  in  the  sign  Gemini 
at  the  period  of  the  origin  of  the  primitive  traditions.  Finally,  we 
note  the  appearance  in  the  sign  Gemini  of  the  name  of  the  patri- 
arch, Jared,  "  the  descent,"  which  was  interpreted  in  the  twelfth 
chapter,  of  the  fall  of  man  ;  and  we  have  now  a  very  conclusive 
proof  of  the  correctness  of  this  view.  Thus,  the  identical  concep- 
tions relative  to  the  fall  of  man  which  were  seen,  in  the  twelfth 
chapter,  to  centre  in  the  signs  Libra  and  Scorpio  are  now  found 
repeated  with  equal  clearness  in  the  signs  Taurus  and  Gemini.  It 
is  obvious  that  they  originated  at  the  astronomical  period,  when  the 
constellations  Libra  and  Scorpio  were  in  the  signs  Taurus  and  Gem- 
ini ;  and  that  ages  after,  when  the  astronomical  period  had  passed 
out  of  mind,  the  same  ideas  continued  to  be  associated  with  the 
signs  Libra  and  Scorpio  taken  alone ;  and  to  aid  in  perpetuating 
this  association  of  ideas,  the  sacred  mountain  and  the  cherubim 
were  mystically  represented  in  Libra,  and  the  name  of  Dan,  as  bit- 
ing serpent,  connected  with  Scorpio.  Our  fourth  plate,  then,  offers 
a  complete  explanation  of  all  these  singular  conceptions,  both  as  to 
their  origin  and  import ;  and  its  actual  scientific  value  in  this  re- 
spect begins  now  to  vindicate  itself.  But  we  pass  to  the  considera- 
tion of  still  another  coincidence,  equally  remarkable  in  character. 

SEC.  157.  Immediately  following  Taurus  and  Gemini,  in  the 
order  of  the  signs,  is  that  of  Cancer.  In  the  Asiatic  calendars,  the 
dying  sun-god  was  associated  usually  with  this  zodiacal  division. 
Thus,  the  Hebrew  name  of  the  month  answering  to  Cancer  is 
Tammuz,  and  the  Assyrian  name  is  Dti-zu,  both  being  well  known 
titles  of  the  solar  deity,  who  suffers  a  violent  death,  and  is  after- 
wards raised  to  life.  As  previously  stated  in  these  researches,  in 
the  Arabic  zodiac,  the  lion's  paw  stretches  out  over  the  space  occu- 


386 


PAR-MOAD. 


pied  by  Cancer,  forming  thus  a  distinct  lunar  mansion  called  the 
"  Paw."  But  the  dying  sun-god  was  also  Hercules,  whose  associa- 
tion with  the  cherubim,  located  zodiacally  in  Libra,  and  assimilation 
to  the  promised  seed  of  the  woman,  were  points  fully  established  in 
the  twelfth  chapter.  We  are  prepared  now  to  explain  the  enigmatic 
allusions  in  Jacob's  prophecy  relative  to  Dan :  "  A  serpent  by  the 
way,  an  adder  in  the  path,  that  biteth  the  horse's  heels"  Not  only 
is  there  an  obvious  reference  here  to  the  serpent  of  Eden  (Na- 
khash),  but  to  the  expression,  "  Thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel"  refer- 
ring to  the  promised  seed.  The  same  word  for  "  heel  "  occurs  in 
both  texts.  In  one  case,  the  direct  allusion  is  to  Hercules,  assimi- 
lated to  the  seed  of  the  woman  ;  and  in  the  other,  to  Sagittarius,  the 
celestial  horse,  proved  by  the  representation  in  some  zodiacs  of  a 
serpent  biting  the  heels  of  Sagittarius.  It  is  evident  that  in  both 
instances  the  reference  is  to  the  same  primitive  conceptions.  1st. 
Our  zodiacal  scheme  shows  the  constellation  Sagittarius  in  the  sign 
Cancer,  this  last  being  uniformly  connected  with  the  dying  sun- 
god,  and  thence  witfy  Hercules.  2d.  That  which  confirms  all  is  the 
Assyrian  name  of  the  month  KiMivu,  corresponding  to  Sagittarius, 
a  name  in  which  Rev.  A.  H.  Sayce  recognizes  the  term  Kisil, 
"  giant,"  that  is,  Hercules.  Add  to  these  data  the  ancient  legend 
according  to  which  the  giant  receives  a  sting  in  the  heel  from  the 
scorpion,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  dies.  Thus  we  reproduce  the 
entire  circle  of  ideas  relative  to  the  fall  and  redemption  of  man 
which  were  previously  found  centring  in  the  signs  Libra  and 
Scorpio,  as  having  been  primitively  connected  with  the  three  zodi- 
acal divisions,  Taurus,  Gemini,  and  Cancer.  The  astronomical 
period  when  these  ideas  were  first  given  a  zodiacal  expression 
could  have  been  no  other  than  that  exhibited  in  our  fourth  plate. 
But  long  after  this  epoch  had  been  forgotten,  the  same  notions 
were  perpetuated  in  the  signs  Libra,  Scorpio,  and  Sagittarius.  In 
this  case,  however,  it  was  necessary,  in  order  to  complete  the  repre- 
sentation, to  locate  the  sacred  mountain  in  Libra;  to  picture  there 
the  great  mother  and  her  child,  etc.,  all  which  demonstrates  the 
existence  of  conscious  design  and  scrupulous  care  in  preserving  the 
astronomical  record  of  traditions  dating  from  the  beginning  of 
human  history. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  twelfth  chapter  the  god  Hea 
was  identified  with  Hercules  as  true  fish-god  on  one  hand,  and  with 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  387 

the  man-bulls  or  Kirubi,  really  one  with  the  Biblical  cherubim,  on 
the  other  hand ;  these  symbolic  animals  being  located  zodiacally  in 
Libra,  or  the  sign  of  the  Pincers.  It  was  quite  unaccountable  to  find 
Hercules  closely  connected  at  different  times  with  three  distinct 
zodiacal  divisions:  1st.  With  Pisces  as  the  true  fish-god;  2d.  With 
Taurus  as  Alap  Shamas,  "  taurus  of  the  sun  ;  "  3d.  With  Libra  as 
localization  of  the  sacred  mount  and  of  the  cherubim.  Our  fourth 
plate  affords  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  these  apparent  anomalies. 
We  see  that  primitively  the  constellation  Pisces  occupied  the  sign 
Libra,  and  that  then,  also,  the  constellation  Libra  was  found  in  the 
sign  Taurus.  Thus  we  readily  account  for  the  intimate  association 
of  Hercules  with  the  three  asterisms  named.  It  must  be,  I  think, 
that  a  zodiacal  scheme  which  offers  so  many  valuable  explanations, 
pointing  so  significantly  to  the  origin  of  so  many  traditionary  ideas, 
attaches  to  itself  some  scientific  character.  But  to  give  here  an 
additional  illustration,  we  recur  to  the  name  Centaur,  applied  to 
Sagittarius.  It  is  derived  from  two  Greek  words :  Kented,  "  to 
prick,  stab,  goad,  sting ;  "  and  Taurus,  "  the  Taurus  or  Bull ; " 
hence  the  name  Ken-taurus  or  Centaur.  For  the  first  element, 
then,  we  have  the  fact  that  Sagittarius  was  often  represented  on 
the  Babylonian  sphere  by  an  arrow  simply,  the  instrument  for 
pricking,  stabbing,  and  killing.  For  the  second  element,  compare 
the  fourth  plate,  where  we  find  the  constellation  Taurus  in  the  sign 
Sagittarius,  frequently  marked  by  the  "arrow"  alone.  Nothing 
can  be  plainer  than  the  fact  that  our  zodiacal  theme  represents  the 
state  of  the  heavens,  which  gave  rise  to  the  name  Kent-taurus. 
But  it  is  evident  that  the  first  element  Kent  is  much  older  than  the 
Greek  verb  Rented. 

SEC.  158.  In  the  chapter  showing  the  adjustment  of  the  antedi- 
luvian genealogies  to  the  zodiac,  the  assimilation  of  Jared  to  Scorpio, 
and  of  Enoch  to  Sagittarius,  owing  to  the  want  of  sufficient  data  at 
the  time,  was  left  only  partially  explained.  In  the  present  study, 
we  have  developed  already  an  additional  significance  in  the  connec- 
tion of  Jared  with  Scorpio.  Whether  as  associated  with  the  sign 
Scorpio  following  Libra,  or  with  the  constellation  Scorpio  found  in 
the  sign  Gemini,  we  see  now  that  the  meaning  of  Jared,  "  the 
descent,"  or  "  he  who  descends,"  is  very  significant.  In  both  in- 
stances, as  already  explained,  it  involves  very  plainly  the  notion  of 
the  fall,  of  the  descent  or  expulsion  from  the  paradisiacal  mount 


388 


HAR-MOAD. 


into  the  region  of  darkness  and  death.  In  relation  to  the  name 
Enoch,  connected  with  Sagittarius,  it  has  the  sense  of  "  the  initiated," 
from  a  verb  meaning  "  to  choke,  to  straiten,  to  make  narrow,"  etc. 
Our  plate  shows  this  name  accompanying  the  constellation  Sagit- 
tarius, in  the  sign  Cancer.  We  are  here  evidently  in  close  contact 
with  the  mysteries  appertaining  to  the  dying  sun-god.  Here  is  the 
"  lion's  paw,"  calling  to  mind  the  Biblical  expression  applied  to 
Christ:  "  The  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Juda,"  who  alone  could  open  the 
book  of  seven  seals  (Rev.  v.  1-5).  It  was  in  the  sign  Cancer  that 
the  Egyptians  added  the  five  intercalary  days,  and  it  was  during 
these  five  days  that  the  Osirian  divinities  were  born.  The  mysteries 
of  Osiris,  as  Sir  G.  Wilkinson  has  informed  us,  formed  the  central 
point  in  the  Egyptian  religion.  Osiris'  death  and  resurrection 
constituted  the  subject  of  those  mysteries.  Finally,  the  years  of 
Enoch's  earth  life,  365,  are  interpreted  by  many  writers  of  the  365 
days  of  the  year,  including  the  five  intercalary  days.  The  theory 
is,  that  at  first  the  year  contained  only  360  days,  equal  to  the 
number  of  degrees  of  the  zodiac,  or  30  for  each  sign ;  that  after- 
wards it  was  found  necessary  to  add  five  more,  in  order  to  com- 
plete the  year.  These  were  the  five  days  in  which  the  Osirian 
deities  had  their  birth.  As  before  said,  they  were  added  in  the 
sign  Cancer;  and  the  360  +  5  years  of  Enoch's  life  may  refer  to 
this  fact.  Another  circle  of  ideas  centres  here.  Sagittarius  was 
one  of  the  Asvins,  whose  connection  with  the  chariot  of  the  sun 
has  been  pointed  out.  The  Roman  chariot  races  were,  as  M. 
Dupuis  states,  in  imitation  of  the  sun's  annual  course.  The  name 
of  the  Phosnician  star  Sugi,  also  found  in  the  sign  Cancer,  signifies 
"front  part  of  a  chariot,"  and  " rivalry,"  especially  of  chariots. 
Now  in  the  solar  race  the  termination  was  in  Cancer.  But  it  was 
found  that  the  chariots  did  not  arrive  "  on  time,"  that  they  were 
falling  back  at  the  rate  of  five  days  in  each  year.  This  accounts 
for  the  legends  respecting  the  Centaur,  one  with  Sagittarius,  as 
being  an  instructor  in  the  chase.  He  taught  medicine  also,  and 
this  agrees  with  Enoch's  character,  as  identified  with  Thoth  or 
Hermes.  But  it  is  unnecessary  to  enlarge  upon  these  matters. 

It  will  be  urged  that  these  data,  in  addition  to  those  heretofore 
introduced,  render  it  difficult  to  attach  any  historical  character  to 
the  Mosaic  genealogy  before  the  flood.  This  may  be  so ;  but  it  does 
not  alter  the  nature  of  the  data  themselves,  nor  modify  their  force 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  389 

as  grounds  of  scientific  conclusions.  For  myself  I  still  believe  that 
this  genealogy  was  in  some  sense  historical,  but  as  for  positive 
proofs  to  this  effect  I  have  not  as  yet  discovered  them.  Indeed,  the 
evidences  thus  far  go  to  justify  a  different  conclusion.  However, 
the  zodiacal  scheme  exhibited  in  our  plate  has  not  yet  been  ex- 
hausted of  its  meaning,  and  I  am  confident  that  a  long  time  will 
elapse  before  it  has  yielded  up  its  full  import.  Thus,  while  stating 
the  facts  as  they  have  appeared  to  my  mind,  I  do  not  consider  it 
safe  to  affirm  as  yet  that  no  historical  value  can  be  attached  to  the 
genealogy  in  question. 

SEC.  159.  I  have  long  suspected  that  the  Chinese  dragon,  put  for 
the  east,  was  primitively  identical  with  the  dragon  to  which  Dama- 
scius  alludes,  having  the  four  faces  of  a  man,  a  bull,  a  lion,  and  a 
serpent.  According  to  Chinese  tradition  this  symbolic  animal  had 
the  head  of  a  camel,  the  eyes  of  a  serpent,  the  belly  of  a  frog,  the 
scales  of  a  fish,  the  claws  of  an  eagle,  the  feet  of  ^  tiger,  and  the 
ears  of  a  taurus.1  In  this  description  the  mention  of  the  serpent 
and  eagle,  substituted  for  each  other  in  the  cherubim,  of  the  tiger, 
which  well  answers  to  the  lion  of  the  cherubic  animals,  and  of  the 
taurus,  although  these  forms  are  associated  with  various  others,  ac- 
cording to  mythological  fancy,  seems  to  justify  the  supposition  of 
an  original  connection  with  the  dragon  of  Damascius,  which  personi- 
fied the  Hercules  and  Chronos  of  Western  Asia.  In  both  instances 
the  symbolic  figure  relates  to  the  sun  in  its  annual  course,  so  fre- 
quently taken,  as  we  have  seen,  as  a  symbol  of  the  life  of  man. 
But  that  which  must  be  regarded  as  conclusive  here  is  the  conceived 
death  and  resurrection  of  the  dragon  of  the  Chinese,  according  to 
Dr.  Schlegel,  as  follows :  "  But  the  death  and  resurrection  of  the 
dragon  took  place  at  the  same  epochs  as  of  the  sun,  namely,  at  the 
two  equinoxes.  Thus,  we  must  regard  the  dragon  as  a  symbol  of 
the  sun."2  The  sun,  however,  in  this  case,  and  as  is  now  apparent, 
represented  in  its  course  the  life  of  man,  especially  the  promised 
seed  of  the  woman.  Evidently  the  dragon,  both  of  China  and  of 
Western  Asia,  was  identical  with  that  chosen  for  their  emblem  by 
those  primitive  "  corporations,"  that  ancient  order  of  priest-kings, 
constituting  the  subject  of  the  third  chapter,  and  we  are  now  able 
fully  to  comprehend  the  traditionary  significance  of  this  emblem. 

1  Schlegel,  Uranograpliie  Chinois,  pp.  49,  50. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  53. 


390 


HAR-MOAD. 


In  all  cases  the  reference  was  to  the  cherubim  placed  at  the  east  of 
the  Garden  of  Eden.  Recollections  of  these  symbolic  figures,  and 
even  of  their  import,  had  been  carried  into  every  quarter  of  the 
Asiatic  world  by  the  peoples  primitively  diverging  from  the  sacred 
mount  of  paradise,  that  "  mount  of  the  assembly "  around  whose 
summit  turned  the  chariot  of  the  seven  stars,  associated  with  the 
earliest  traditions  of  all  the  ancient  nations. 

But  if  the  dragon  of  China  must  be  identified  with  that  of  West- 
ern Asia,  and  if  both  are  to  be  taken  as  symbols  of  the  sun-god, 
especially  under  the  form  of  Hercules,  this  last  must  be  assimilated 
likewise  to  Saturn,  the  time-god,  the  Chronos  of  the  Greeks.  As 
shown  in  our  study  upon  the  cherubim,  noted  especially  in  the  last 
section  of  it  (135),  Hercules  is  intimately  associated  with  three  dif- 
ferent zodiacal  signs,  with  Pisces  as  fish-god,  under  the  name  of 
Hea,  with  Taurus  as  Alap  Shamas,  "  taurus  of  the  sun,"  and  finally 
with  Libra,  where  we  find  located  the  cherubim,  symbol  of  Her- 
cules. Our  assumed  zodiacal  scheme  explains  all  this,  for,  as  be- 
fore stated,  we  find  the  constellation  Pisces  in  the  sign  Libra,  and 
the  constellation  Libra  in  the  sign  Taurus.  On  one  hand,  the  primi- 
tive situation  of  the  constellation  Libra,  formerly  the  Pincers  of 
the  Scorpion,  in  the  sign  Taurus,  perfectly  illustrates  the  origin  of 
the  fundamental  notion  involved  in  the  cherubim,  as  heretofore 
explained.  On  the  other  hand,  we  see  how  Hea,  as  fish-god,  as 
taurus  of  the  sun,  and  also  as  Hercules,  could  be  so  closely  con- 
nected with  Libra,  for  the  constellation  Pisces  was  primitively  in 
this  sign.  But  Hercules  is  time-god,  and  this  suggests  the  notion 
of  chronology,  in  this  case  a  zodiacal  chronology.  Hea  unites  in 
himself  two  remarkable  characters:  1st.  As  Auv-Kinuv,  Existent 
Being,  who  impregnates  the  primeval  waters  of  chaos.  In  this 
character  he  answers  well  to  that  of  Adar,  or  Nin-il>,  "ioud  of  gen- 
eration." 2d.  Hea  is  god  of  the  deluge,  as  seen  in  the  "  Deluge 
Tablets."  Add  to  this  the  fact  that  the  diluvian  mountain  was 
uniformly  identified  with  the  mount  of  paradise  in  ancient  tradi- 
tion. This  very  mountain,  as  we  have  shown,  was  located  zodi- 
acally  in  Libra.  Hea's  connection  with  the  sacred  mount  thus  situ- 
ated calls  to  mind  the  Egyptian  god  Turn  associated  with  the  solar 
mountain  placed  in  the  same  zodiacal  division.  u  Thou  enterest 
into  thy  palace,"  says  a  sgribe  in  praise  of  an  Egyptian  king,  and 
as  previously  cited  by  us,  "  as  Turn  into  the  solar  mountain."  The 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  391 

Egyptian  Turn  was  the  sun  of  the  lower  hemisphere,  the  same  as 
Hea,  identified  with  Nin  or  Adar.  Compare  again  with  the  great 
mother,  represented  in  the  Egyptian  solar  mountain,  the  cuneiform 
text  heretofore  rendered  by  us,  "  The  sublime  mountain  of  Turn  = 
the  goddess  Ishtar."  Thus  do  the  earliest  religious  conceptions  of 
different  peoples  of  antiquity  perfectly  accord,  and  thus  does  our 
zodiacal  scheme  furnish  the  key  to  their  origin  and  import. 

With  respect  now  to  a  zodiacal  chronology :  the  sacred  mount 
located  in  the  sign  Libra  with  which  Hea,  in  his  double  character 
as  Auv-Kinuv  and  as  God  of  the  deluge,  is  connected, — this  sacred 
mountain,  I  say,  must  represent  two  distinct  epochs,  that  of  crea- 
tion and  of  the  deluge.  If  it  was  the  epoch  of  creation  alone,  the 
location  of  the  solar  mount  should  be  in  the  sign  Capricorn,  put  for 
the  winter  solstice,  at  which  period  the  birth  of  the  world  and  of 
man  was  supposed  to  occur.  But  the  attempt  has  been  made,  in 
the  arrangement  before  us,  to  represent  the  two  eras  of  creation 
and  of  the  deluge.  Hea  is  connected  with  both,  hence  the  constel- 
lation Pisces,  the  fish  of  Hea,  is  found  in  the  sign  Libra.  The  in- 
dications are  that,  while  the  creation  epoch  is  assigned  to  the  winter 
solstice,  that  of  the  deluge  answers  to  the  spring  season,  and  this 
accords  with  the  tablet  translated  by  Mr.  Smith  (Sec.  137),  which 
assigns  the  commencement  of  spring  to  the  first  degree  of  Pisces. 
The  chronological  difference,  then,  between  the  two  eras  is  that 
represented  by  the  sun's  annual  course  from  the  period  of  the  win- 
ter solstice  into  the  first  degree  of  Pisces.  All  this,  however,  only 
by  way  of  suggestion  to  future  investigators.  To  me,  at  present, 
the  matter  of  the  deluge  epoch  is  very  doubtful.  The  era  of  crea- 
tion alone,  of  the  birth  of  man,  is  that  positively  indicated  by  our 
zodiacal  arrangement. 

The  investigations  of  the  present  chapter  have  served  to  demon- 
strate, it  seems  to  me,  that  the  astronomical  theme  presented  in  the 
fourth  plate  has  nothing  fanciful  for  its  basis ;  but  that  it  must  be 
regarded  as  possessing  an  actual  scientific  value.  We  proceed,  then, 
to  the  final  confirmation  of  our  chronological  hypothesis  in  the  chap- 
ter following.1 

1  A  passage  in  the  Litany  of  the  Sun,  as  translated  by  M.  Naville,  appears 
to  m«  to  afford  a  direct  proof,  and  this  of  an  entirely  independent  character,  that 
Gemini,  or  the  Twins,  as  a  constellation,  was  originally  found  in  the  sign  Capri- 
corn. As  was  shown  in  the  thirteenth  chapter,  and  also  in  previous  studies,  the 


392 


HAR-MOAD. 


sun-god  was  supposed  to  die  of  old  age,  and  to  renew  itself  under  the  form  of  a 
child,  precisely  at  the  winter  solstice,  being  then  in  Capricorn.  The  Egyptians 
represented  this  aged  sun  by  the  figure  of  a  man  bent  down  with  years,  support- 
ing himself  with  a  staff.  Now  the  Litany  oj  the  Sun  hinges  to  a  great  extent 
upon  the  annual  course  of  the  solar  orb,  setting  forth  the  various  forms  which  the 
sun-god  assumes  during  its  journey.  The  passage  to  which  I  allude  is  as  follows 
(Litany,  p.  64)  :  — 

"The  great  Senior  (eldest,  first-born,  or  aged)  who  resides  in  the  Empyrean, 
Chepri  who  becomes  the  two  infants,  the  image  of  the  bodies  of  the  two  infants." 

The  determinative  of  the  word  which  M.  Naville  renders  by  the  French  Ame, 
u elder,  first-born,"  etc.,  is  an  aged  man  supported  by  a  staff  as  before  described; 
and  the  passage  regards  the  sun-god  as  having  assumed  this  form,  which  refers, 
of  course,  to  the  winter  solstice.  The  translator  offers  the  following  by  way  of 
comment  :  — 

"  This  is  evidently  the  Aged  One,  the  great  Senior,  he  who  has  achieved  his 
existence  ;  this  is  one  whose  life  approaches  the  end  ;  for  he  has  also  the  name  of 
Chepri,  which,  as  we  have  seen  in  Nikennu  2,  is  the  Scarabseus  who  folds  its 
wings,  who  reposes  in  the  Empyrean,  and  who  is  re-born  as  his  own  son.  It  is  the 
same  idea  expressed  here  under  a  little  different  form  ;  the  great  Senior,  the  Aged 
One  reappears,  is  re-born  under  the  form  of  two  infants."  "  The  re-birth  is,  for 
the  rest,  the  cause  of  the  duality ;  we  have  the  proof  in  a  passage  of  the  Book 
of  the  Dead,  relative  to  the  re-birth  of  Osiris  :  '  Osiris  arrives  at  Mendes,  where  he 
finds  Ra,  and,  behold,  they  embrace  each  other;  and  he  becomes  a  spirit  under 
the  form  of  two  twins.1  These  two  twins,  according  to  the  Book  of  the  Dead, 
are  the  two  different  forms  of  Horus,  or  Osiris  and  Ra,  or  yet  Shu  and  Tefnut ; 
these  two  last  divinities  represent  the  male  and  female  principles.  This  duality, 
these  two  principles,  are,  then,  not  the  result  of  the  primordial  creation,  but  rather 
of  a  re-birth,  a  second  creative  act."  (Id.) 

I  must  differ  from  M.  Naville  respecting  the  opinion  expressed  in  the  last  sen- 
tence. The  daily  and  annual  courses  of  the  sun  were  taken  as  types  of  the 
primordial  sun;  and  Osiris  involved  in  his  character  these  three  phases.  Hence, 
as  the  Litany  itself  is  a  cosmogony,  the  primordial  creation  must  be  that  here 
intended.  Although  familiar  with  the  fact  that  the  sun,  conceived  as  an  aged 
man,  was  supposed  to  die  at  the  winter  solstice,  and  to  be  re-born  under  the  form 
of  a  child,  I  was  not  aware  that  the  sun  was  ever  conceived  as  renewing  itself  at 
this  period  under  the  form  of  two  twins,  till  made  acquainted  with  this  important 
truth  through  the  researches  of  M.  Naville.  The  bearing  of  this  fact  upon  our 
theory  of  the  original  adjustment  of  the  zodiac  will  be  readily  perceived  :  — 

1st.  This  zodiacal  scheme  is  supposed  to  exhibit  the  actual  state  of  the  hea- 
vens at  the  period  to  which  the  ancient  cosmogonies  pertained  ;  and  the  Litany 
of  the  Sun  is  itself  preeminently  a  cosmogony. 

2d.  According  to  the  ancient  cosmical  traditions,  the  creation  of  the  world  and 
the  birth  of  man  took  place  in  the  lower  hemisphere,  and  precisely  at  the  winter 
solstice,  when  the  old  sun  dies  and  renews  itself  in  infancy. 

3d.  Having  seen  that  the  constellation  Gemini,  or  the  Twins,  represented  tradi- 
tionally the  first  human  pair,  and  thus,  according  to  the  cosmogonies,  the  winter 
solstice  also,  we  have  placed  this  constellation  in  the  sign  Capricorn,  and  adjusted 
our  zodiacal  scheme  upon  this  basis, 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  393 

4th.  We  find  now  that,  in  the  Egyptian  cosmogony  embraced  in  the  Litany, 
inscribed  upon  the  walls  of  the  royal  tombs  at  Thebes,  the  old  sun,  when  it  died 
at  the  winter  solstice,  was  supposed  to  renew  itself  under  the  form  of  two  twins ; 
sometimes  represented  as  two  males,  like  Castor  and  Pollux  of  the  Greeks,  at 
others  as  a  male  and  female,  like  Yama  and  Yami  of  the  Hindus. 

Call  to  mind  that  the  sun  in  its  course  was  taken  as  a  symbol  of  the  life  of  hu- 
manity, and  that  the  birth  of  the  primordial  sun  to  the  light  was  a  type  of  the 
birth  of  humanity  itself,  and  we  have  a  complete  conception  of  the  force  and 
bearings  of  the  data  which  M.  Naville  has  made  available  to  our  purpose.  It  is 
obvious,  I  think,  that  the  passage  of  the  Litany  here  produced  appertains  to  the 
epoch  when  the  zodiacal  twins  represented  the  period  of  the  winter  solstice. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  PRIMITIVE  CELESTIAL   POLE. 

SEC.  160.  By  the  primitive  pole  of  the  heavens  we  mean  that 
answering  to  the  period  from  whence  the  primeval  traditions  of 
mankind  were  derived,  especially  those  with  which  we  have  been 
principally  occupied  in  the  present  treatise.  But  before  entering 
directly  upon  the  subject  here  proposed,  it  is  necessary  to  offer  some 
explanations  with  the  view  to  a  clear  apprehension  of  it. 

If  the  reader  notices  the  wabbling  motion  of  a  top  as  its  rotating 
force  diminishes  and  it  begins  to  fall  over,  a  perfectly  clear  idea 
will  be  gained  of  that  movement  of  the  earth  in  the  plane  of  the 
ecliptic,  which  causes  the  phenomenon  termed  the  "  precession  of 
the  equinoxes."  It  is  not  the  annual  motion  around  the  sun,  nor 
the  daily  revolution  on  its  axis,  both  of  which  are  geographically 
speaking  from  west  to  east,  but  a  very  slow  movement  of  the 
earth's  axis  itself  from  east  to  west,  describing  circles  in  the  celes- 
tial spaces  opposite  the  terrestrial  poles,  about  47°  in  diameter,  or 
equal  to  the  northern  and  southern  declination  of  the  sun  during  its 
annual  course.  For  the  two  poles  of  the  earth,  here  supposed  to  be 
projected  into  the  heavens,  to  describe  the  circles  alluded  to  requires 
an  immense  period  of  time,  equal  to  about  twenty-five  thousand 
years.  Confining  ourselves  to  the  northern  circle,  since  little  was 
known  of  the  south  pole  in  high  antiquity,  it  results  from  the  move- 
ment just  described  that  the  polar  star  is  not  always  the  same. 
This  depends  wholly  upon  the  point  in  the  circle  referred  to,  toward 
which  the  earth's  axis  for  the  time  being  is  directed.  If  we  were 
to  suppose  a  point  opposite  to  that  of  the  present  direction,  the 
celestial  pole  would  be  about  47°  distant  from  its  position  to-day, 
and  the  inclination  of  the  earth's  axis  to  the  plane  of  the  ecliptic 
would  be  the  opposite  to  its  present  inclination.  The  position  of 
the  earth  in  its  orbit,  that  now  results  in  summer  north  of  the 


w 

< 

H-l 

cu 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  395 

equator,  would  then  produce  winter  in  the  same  terrestrial  region, 
and  a  similar  reversion  of  the  equinoxes  would  likewise  take  place. 
The  summer  solstice  would  fall  in  Capricorn  and  the  winter  solstice 
in  Cancer,  the  vernal  equinox  in  Libra  and  the  autumnal  in  Aries. 
The  reader  finds  all  these  matters  illustrated  in  the  fifth  plate,  to 
which  we  now  refer. 

The  line  A,  B  represents  the  plane  of  the  ecliptic  in  which  is  S, 
the  sun,  and  E,  E;,  the  earth,  exhibiting  the  supposed  primitive 
and  the  present  actual  inclination  of  its  axis.  We  will  take  No.  1 
for  the  former,  No.  2  for  the  latter,  with  the  sun  in  Cancer.  Then 
0,  d  shows  the  inclination  of  the  axis  in  its  primitive  state,  and 
c',  d'  its  opposite  obliquity  at  the  present  day.  The  lines  A,  z, 
and  h',  i',  represent  the  two  opposed  inclinations  of  the  earth's 
equator  to  the  ecliptic.  Properly  there  should  be  but  one  figure  of 
the  earth  shown  here,  in  which  case  the  dotted  line  w,  n  would 
take  the  place  of  £,  d,  and  m,  cr  would  then  truly  represent  the 
diameter  of  the  polar  circle.  But  the  two  figures  enable  us  to  pre- 
sent the  subject  more  palpably  to  the  eye,  if  the  fact  is  distinctly 
understood  that  E,  E'  are  put  for  one  and  the  same  position  of  the 
earth  in  its  orbit,  but  showing  its  two  opposed  conditions  at  the 
different  epochs.  Examine  now  position  No.  2,  representing  the 
present  period :  the  sun  is  in  the  sign  Cancer,  the  time  of  year  is 
the  summer  solstice.  As  the  line  h',  i'  represents  the  earth's  equa- 
tor, it  will  be  seen  that  the  sun  appears  geographically  in  the  north 
where  it  is  mid-summer.  The  constellation  Gemini  is  now  in  the 
sign  Cancer,  and  thus  marks  the  period  of  the  summer  solstice  as 
it  occurs  in  our  times.  Observe,  then,  the  condition  of  things  as 
represented  by  position  No.  1.  The  earth  is  in  exactly  the  same 
point  of  its  orbit  as  before,  the  sun  is  in  Cancer,  the  constellation 
Gemini ;  but  the  time  of  the  year  as  regards  the  seasons  is  wholly 
reversed.  The  sun  appears  geographically  in  the  extreme  south, 
and  it  is  winter,  the  exact  period  of  the  winter  solstice,  the  place 
and  time  to  which  all  the  primeval  traditions  assigned  the  birth  of 
the  world  and  of  man.  It  is  necessary  only  to  add  here  that  the 
point  d  represents  the  position  of  the  present  pole  star,  while  (?, 
more  correctly  w,  indicates  the  relative  position  of  the  primitive 
celestial  pole  about  47°  distant. 

SEC.  161.    The  conditions  of  our  problem  as  developed  in  Chap- 
ter XIII.  presuppose  precisely  that  opposite  inclination  of  the  earth's 


396 


HAR-MOAD. 


axis,  and  the  reversion  of  all  the  seasons,  compared  with  the  pre- 
sent era  of  the  world,  which  is  illustrated  in  position  No.  1  of  the 
plate.  In  the  fourth  plate,  forming  the  subject  of  our  last  study, 
I  have  preferred  for  several  reasons  to  consider  the  signs  as  fixed 
and  the  constellations  as  movable.  The  constellation  Gemini,  as- 
similated to  the  first  human  pair,  marks  to-day  the  summer  solstice, 
exactly  the  opposite  period  of  the  year  to  which  the  birth  of  man 
and  the  world  were  assigned  in  tradition.  The  sun,  also,  whose 
course  symbolizes  the  life  of  humanity,  is  at  its  highest  exaltation 
in  Gemini  to-day,  whereas  to  conform  to  tradition  it  ought  to  be 
in  the  period  of  infancy  at  mid-winter.  The  sign  Capricorn  repre- 
sents this  period,  and  hence  I  have  adjusted  the  constellations  in 
such  manner  in  the  fourth  plate  that  Gemini,  traditionally  asso- 
ciated with,  the  first  human  pair,  should  fall  in  the  sign  Capricorn. 
This  operation  supposes  that  the  constellations  have  moved  forward 
on  the  zodiac  (or  the  signs  fallen  back)  just  half  a  circle  since  the 
period  of  the  birth  of  man,  according  to  the  earliest  and  most  au- 
thentic traditions.  Now  half  the  circle  zodiacally  presupposes  a 
like  amount  in  that  described  in  the  northern  heavens  by  the  slow 
movement  of  the  earth's  axis  already  described.  The  primitive 
pole  star,  therefore,  was  in  the  point  of  this  circle  exactly  opposite 
to  the  present  pole  star,  or  about  47°  distant  if  we  regard  the 
diameter,  180°  if  we  have  respect  to  the  circumference,  which  would 
represent  the  so-called  "  right  ascension  "  of  all  the  fixed  stars  since 
the  period  whose  chronology  we  seek  to  determine. 

If  the  primitive  celestial  pole  was  at  a  point  directly  opposite  the 
present  pole  star  in  the  circle  referred  to,  or  47°  distant,  it  is  very 
easy  to  determine  its  position  on  the  globe  as  well  as  in  the  heavens. 
It  was  in  the  constellation  Lyra,  near  the  star  Vega,  sometimes 
called  Lyra  also,  and  this  I  believe  to  have  been  the  actual  pole 
star  at  the  period  to  which  the  primeval  traditions  of  mankind  per- 
tained. It  was  the  original  Su-Meru  of  the  Hindus,  Shemal  of  the 
Haranite  Sabians,  the  Su-mi-lu  of  the  cuneiform  texts.  It  was  pre- 
cisely this  central  region  which  was  then  penetrated  by  the  summit 
of  the  traditional  mount  of  paradise,  and  it  was  thus  the  supposed 
celestial  paradise  united  to  the  terrestrial  by  the  sacred  mount. 
The  terrestrial  paradise  was  taken  for  the  centre  of  the  earth,  while 
the  celestial  was  regarded  as  the  centre  of  the  heavens,  the  one 
being  conceived  as  directly  over  the  other,  and  these  two  points 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  397 

constituted  the  supposed  axis  of  rotation  of  the  entire  universe. 
What  we  now  seek  is  the  original  centre  of  the  heavens,  since,  as 
due  to  the  earth's  wabble  in  the  plane  of  the  ecliptic,  this  centre  is 
constantly  changing;  in  other  terms  the  pole  star  is  not  always  the 
same.  We  have  assumed  the  star  Vega  in  the  constellation  Lyra 
as  that  original  centre,  and  as  the  primitive  Su-Meru.  Hence  it 
was  there  that  the  summit  of  Meru  penetrated  the  sky,  giving  rise 
to  the  Sanskrit  phrase  Svarga-bhoumi,  "  the  celestial  earth,"  as  al- 
ready stated  to  us  by  M.  Obry.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  as  affirmed 
by  this  writer  in  a  passage  soon  to  be  produced,  that  the  terrestrial 
paradise  corresponded,  as  supposed,  to  the  celestial  paradise  in  al- 
most every  particular.  One  was  the  image  of  the  other,  and  the 
resemblance  extended  even  to  the  details.  It  is  this  traditional 
correspondence  between  the  two  that  will  constitute  the  underlying 
principle  of  nearly  all  the  facts  to  be  presented  in  the  present 
chapter.  In  this  identical  region  of  celestial  space,  now  assumed 
by  us  as  having  been  the  primitive  pole  of  the  heavens,  we  are  to 
find,  as  it  were  written  in  the  sky,  another  version  of  the  Mosaic 
account  of  Eden,  both  geographically  and  historically  considered. 
This  will  constitute  the  severe  additional  test  to  which  we  desire  to 
submit  the  zodiacal  theme  studied  in  the  last  chapter,  and  which 
was  dictated  by  the  conditions  of  our  problem  upon  zodiacal  chro- 
nology as  developed  in  Chapter  XIII.  The  reader  is  thus  advised 
of  the  course  to  be  pursued  in  the  present  study. 

SEC.  162.  As  a  general  introduction  to  the  facts  upon  the  con- 
sideration of  which  we  are  now  to  enter,  I  produce  the  extracts 
from  M.  Obry  that  follow  :  — 

u  It  is  certain  that  the  Persians  and  Hindus  often  confounded 
their  terrestrial  paradise  with  the  celestial  paradise  of  the  great 
divinities;  the  same  as  Ezekiel  and  St.  John  after  him  confound  the 
renewed  Jerusalem  with  the  celestial  Jerusalem,  constructed  in  the 
form  of  a  square,  and  situated  upon  a  high  mountain."  "  But  in 
going  back  to  the  Mosaic  account  of  Eden,  we  readily  see  that  the 
analogies  traced  by  the  doctors  of  mythology  repose  often  upon 
posterior  fictions.  The  truth  is,  so  far  as  concerns  the  topography, 
that  the  ancients  have  generally  made  the  heaven  in  imitation  of 
the  earth,  and  the  infernal  region  in  imitation  of  heaven.  Thus, 
the  celestial  Eden  and  after  this  the  infernal  Eden  were  formed 
successively  upon  the  model  of  the  terrestrial  Eden,  with  all  its 
principal  accessories.  The  one  was  placed  in  the  superior  hemi- 


398 


HAR-MOAD. 


sphere,  either  at  the  north  pole,  sojourn  of  the  gods  and  of  the  just, 
or  in  the  eastern  quarter  of  the  sphere,  where  the  sun,  at  its  rising, 
renews  the  light,  heat,  and  life.  The  other,  in  its  turn,  was  rele- 
gated at  first,  and  for  some  ages,  to  the  bowels  of  the  earth ;  after- 
wards, when  the  spherical  form  of  the  heavens  was  known,  either 
at  the  south  pole,  abode  of  daemons  and  reprobates,  or  in  the  west, 
where  the  great  star  sets  in  darkness,  cold,  and  death."  "  We  con- 
ceive, then,  that  the  four  rivers  and  animals  of  paradise  had  been 
assigned  successively  to  the  superior  and  inferior  hemispheres. 
This  was  all  the  more  natural  to  the  Aryans  of  India  and  Persia, 
since  their  sacred  mount  was  thought  to  embrace  and  to  unite  the 
three  worlds  in  such  manner  that  the  divine  source  of  waters  that 
supplied  them  (Ganges  or  Arduissur)  was  conceived  to  divide  itself 
into  four  rivers  in  heaven  and  in  the  infernal  region,  as  well  as  upon 
the  earth.  In  all  cases,  it  is  evident  that  the  people  who  have  lo- 
cated these  four  rivers,  either  in  heaven  or  in  the  infernal  region,  or 
in  both,  have  given  them  names  derived  from  those  of  the  terres- 
trial paradise."  "  If  at  a  later  period,  the  priests  have  made  these 
four  favorite  rivers  descend  from  the  milky  way,  from  the  north 
pole,  or  from  the  zodiacal  band,  at  the  four  points  of  the  intersec- 
tions of  the  colures,  this  has  been  only  to  render  them  more  sacred 
in  the  eyes  of  believers."  1 

M.  Obry  has  called  attention  in  the  foregoing  passages  to  many 
important  facts,  some  of  them  confirming  positions  taken  by  us  in 
other  parts  of  our  work,  and  others  affording  evidence  applicable  to 
the  subject  of  the  present  chapter.  But  the  author  has  not  in  all 
cases  been  able  to  view  these  facts,  as  I  am  persuaded,  in  their  true 
light.  As  respects  the  three  Edens,  the  terrestrial,  arid  then  the 
celestial  and  infernal,  successively  copied  from  it,  the  principles 
established  in  the  seventh  chapter,  relative  to  the  transfer  of  the 
terrestrial  paradise  into  the  Greek  Hades,  offer  a  better  point  of  view 
for  the  facts  noticed  by  our  author.  As  to  the  topography  of  the 
celestial  Eden,  placed  -either  at  the  north  pole  or  in  the  east,  and 
of  the  infernal  Eden,  located  at  the  south  pole  or  in  the  west,  it  all 
depended  upon  the  particular  phase  of  the  sun's  coarse  assumed  for 
basis.  The  north  and  south  related  to  the  annual  course,  and  the 
east  and  west  to  the  daily  revolution.  The  spherical  form  of  the 
heavens  was  a  fact  primitively  known,  doubtless,  si-nee  they  take  no 
other  form  lo  the  eye,  and  the  revolution  of  the  seven  stars  of  the 
chariot  around  the  pole  star  must  have  taught  the  first  men  the 

*  Du  Berctau,  etc.,  pp.  183-186. 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  399 

notion  of  the  rotation  of  the  sphere  on  its  axis.  As  for  the  cardinal 
points,  they  were  necessarily  first  determined  from  the  movements 
of  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  the  terrestrial  paradise  was  uniformly, 
in  tradition,  conceived  with  special  reference  to  them.  That  the 
celestial  Eden  was  only  an  imaginary  reproduction  of  the  terres- 
trial, at  a  later  epoch,  is  a  point  very  doubtful.  The  earliest  tradi- 
tions seem  to  recognize  the  existence  of  both  ;  and  they  appear  to 
be  equally  primitive.  M.  Obry  was  not  aware,  at  the  time  he 
wrote,  of  the  remarkable  coincidences  in  a  geographical  sense  be- 
tween the  celestial  and  terrestrial  Edens,  which  are  to  be  developed 
in  the  present  study ;  and  much  less,  if  we  speak  in  the  historical 
sense.  He  alludes  to  the  celestial  source  of  the  four  rivers  as  being 
sometimes  conceived  as  the  north  pole,  at  others,  the  milky  way, 
and  still  again,  as  the  four  points  of  the  zodiac  cut  by  the  colures. 
The  fact  is  that  all  these  sources  coincided  almost  perfectly,  or  at 
least  harmonized  with  each  other,  when  the  celestial  pole  was  in 
Lyra,  near  the  star  Vega ;  for  the  pole  then  bordered  directly  upon 
the  milky  way,  and  the  latter  was  cut  directly  by  the  colures. 

SEC.  163.  In  the  same  region  with  the  Lyre,  we  find  the  con- 
stellation of  the  Eagle,  or  Aquila.  The  two  are  situated  nearly  on 
opposite  sides  of  the  milky  way,  the  Eagle  being  a  little  more  to 
the  south  and  east.  Between  these,  and  floating  on  the  celestial 
river,  identified  with  the  milky  way,  is  the  constellation  Sagittarius, 
or  the  Arrow.  I  mention  these  facts,  in  view  of  certain  state- 
ments by  Dr.  Schlegel  relative  to  the  Chinese  sphere,  which  are  to 
follow.  Upon  the  asterism  called  Tsien-Tai,  "the  terrace  of  filtra- 
tions,"  corresponding  to  ft  8,  y,  t,  of  the  constellation  Lyra,  this  au- 
thor remarks :  — 

"  They  excavate  two  or  more  reservoirs,  one  above  the  other,  in 
the  form  of  terraces,  or  of  stages,  which  can  communicate  together 
only  when  one  reservoir  has  filled  and  overflows  into  the  one  below. 
They  conduct  into  the  upper  basin  a  natural  current  of  water.  In 
the  lowermost  reservoir  is  an  arrow  that  rises  with  the  water,  so 
adjusted  and  marked  that  it  notes  the  periods  of  time.  They 
obtain  thus  a  measure  of  time  quite  regular  .and  sure,  because  the 
period  consumed  by  filling  one  reservoir,  its  overflow  into  another, 
and  that  consumed  by  the  arrow  in  marking  the  successive  divi- 
sions, being  compared  with  the  movement  of  the  sun  or  of  the 
stars,  suffices  for  all  purposes  of  marking  the  periods  of  time 
among  a  primitive  people."  "  Thus  the  astiologues  inform  us  that 


400 


HAR-MOAD. 


the  asterism  Tsien-Tai  is  a  terrace  from  which  the  waters  flow,  and 
that  it  presides  over  the  horologes  of  water  on  earth.  The  4  Ex- 
egesis of  the  Celestial  Sovereigns '  says  that  this  asterism  presides 
over  both  the  sun-dials  and  the  horologes  of  water  ;  and  it  adds  that 
they  verify  the  epochs  of  the  seasons,  their  precession  or  retrograde, 
by  observations  of  the  celestial  bodies,  in  order  to  determine  the 
changes  and  movements  of  the  signs.  The  harmonious  sound  made 
by  the  falling  water,  and  the  noisy  cadence  accompanying  it,  as  it 
descends  slowly  from  one  reservoir  into  another,  gives  the  idea  of 
nature's  music,  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  the  astrologues  make 
the  asterism  itself  preside  over  music."  1 

The  author  then  describes  the  Lien-Tao,  "the  route  of  the  char- 
iots," corresponding  to  77,  0,  and  three  other  stars  of  Lyra:  — 

"  The  characters  composing  Lien  are  those  representing  two  men 
and  a  chariot ;  thus  a  chariot  drawn  by  two  men."  "  This  chariot 
served  not  only  for  the  imperial  promenades,  but  also  for  the  pur- 
pose of  war,  when  horses  were  attached  to  it.  As  such,  the 
4  Route  of  the  chariots '  represents  the  path  of  the  galloping  horses 
of  the  emperor;  and  when  it  was  invisible  they  presaged  that  the 
imperial  routes  were  to  be  occupied  by  warriors."  2 

The  same  writer  refers  to  another  asterism  situated  in  Lyra, 
called  TcM-Nin,  "  the  female  weaver ; "  also  to  one  in  the  lower 
hemisphere,  Nin-Sin,  "  domicile  of  the  virgin,"  marking  the  period 
of  the  winter  solstice.  Still  another  group,  called  Kien-Nin,  "con- 
ductor of  the  Taurus,"  being  a,  /?,  y  of  the  Eagle,  formerly  asso- 
ciated with  the  solstice  of  winter,  is  described.  This  last  asterism 
was  otherwise  named  Ho-Ku,  "drum  of  the  river;"  the  allusion 
to  the  "river  "  having  reference  to  the  milky  way,  regarded  as  the 
celestial  river  by  the  Chinese.3  Returning  now  to  the  "  domicile  of 
the  virgin,"  Dr.  Schlegel  observes  :  — 

"  This  virgin  was  placed  there  to  recall  the  epoch  of  marriages, 
which  took  place  near  the  time  of  the  winter  solstice,  for  the 
reason  that  the  mysterious  marriage  of  nature  was  assigned  to  the 
same  season.  At  the  solstice  of  winter,  say  the  ancient  Chinese, 
the  two  principles,  male  and  female,  Yin  and  Yang,  are  united 
amorously,  heaven  and  earth  have  commerce  together,  and  abandon 
themselves  to  each  other.  Of  this  marriage  is  born  the  new  light 
(also  man),  that  is  to  say,  at  the  solstice  of  winter  the  principles  of 
heat  and  light  are  revealed.  The  displacement  caused  by  the  pre- 

1   UranograpUe  Chinois,  pp.  188,  189.  2  Ibid.,  p.  192. 

8  Vid.  ibid.,  pp.  184,  196,  197,  etc. 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  401 

cession  of  the  equinoxes  having  brought  the  asterism  of  the  Female 
Weaver  to  the  position  formerly  occupied  by  the  Virgin,  it  was  the 
former  that  became  the  emblem  of  the  marriage  of  Nature  at  the 
winter  solstice  ;  and  as  it  culminated  at  the  same  time  as  the  Con- 
ductor of  the  Taurus,  the  two  asterisrns  were  considered  as  symbols 
of  the  male  and  female  principles  of  nature."  "  These  two  aster- 
isms  are  separated  by  the  milky  way,  which  rolls  a  double  stream 
between  them.  That  the  Conductor  of  the  Taurus  might  join  the 
Female  Weaver,  it  was  necessary  to  cross  this  river.  Thus,  they 
imagined  that  at  one  time  during  the  year,  or  at  the  instant  of  the 
winter  solstice,  a  bridge  was  thrown  over  the  milky  way,  which 
enabled  the  Female  Weaver  to  join  the  Conductor  of  the  Taurus, 
for  the  purpose  of  consummating  their  marriage."  "  There  are  no 
constellations  upon  which  the  Chinese  have  founded  so  many  fables 
and  legends  as  upon  those  of  the  Conductor  of  the  Taurus  and  the 
Female  Weaver."  l 

SEC.  164.  It  is  necessary  now  to  study  the  different  bearings  of 
the  facts  relating  to  the  Chinese  asterisms,  and  the  various  notions 
associated  with  them,  for  the  knowledge  of  which  we  have  been 
indebted  to  Dr.  Schlegel. 

1st.  Are  the  two  personified  asterisms  located  respectively  in  the 
constellations  Lyra  and  Aquila,  taken  as  symbols  of  the  two  prin- 
ciples, male  and  female,  light  and  darkness,  heaven  and  earth,  whose 
annual  marriage,  precisely  at  the  period  of  the  winter  solstice, 
represents  that  of  nature,  giving  birth  to  the  cosmos  and  to  man  ? 
,It  is  quite  obvious  that  these  ideas  were  definitely  connected  with 
the  Chinese  cosmogony,  and  especially  with  the  tradition  heretofore 
alluded  to,  which  placed  the  beginning  of  the  revolutions,  of  the 
world,  and  the  birth  of  man,  at  the  instant  of  the  winter  solstice. 
This  tradition,  as  will  be  recollected,  constituted  one  of  the  condi- 
tions of  our  problems,  as  developed  in  the  thirteenth  chapter,  which 
dictated  the  zodiacal  scheme  presented  in  the  last  chapter,  and  ac- 
cording to  which  we  have  been  obliged  to  assume  Lyra  as  the 
primitive  celestial  pole.  It  is  very  remarkable  that  we  should  find 
localized  in  this  identical  region  those  very  traditionary  ideas  con- 
stituting the  conditions  of  the  problem  to  which  we  refer.  No  evi- 
dence more  direct  and  forcible  could  well  be  conceived,  to  the  effect 
that  Lyra  was  actually  the  polar  region  at  the  period  from  which 
those  ideas  had  been  inherited.  But  it  is  quite  certain  also  that 

1  Uranographie  Chinois,  pp.  494,  495. 


402 


JIAR-MOAD. 


these  personified  asterisms  represented  the  first  man  and  woman 
created  at  this  period.     Of  this,  however,  hereafter. 

2d.  In  what  more  significant  region  was  it  possible  to  locate  the 
celestial  horologe  of  water,  supplied  from  the  celestial  river,  to 
mark  the  very  beginning  of  time,  when  the  revolutions  of  the 
spheres  first  commenced?  Dr.  Schlegel  thinks  that  the  Chinese 
were  the  first  to  conceive  the  idea  of  marking  the  periods  of  time, 
by  means  of  an  arrow  floated  on  the  surface  of  a  stream,  or  in  the 
method  of  horologes.  Probably  the  notion  had  its  birth  before 
the  Chinese  were  a  distinct  nation.  Be  this  as  it  may,  we  find  the 
Arrow,  Sagitta,  floating  upon  the  river  of  the  celestial  paradise, 
exactly  between  Aquila  and  Lyra.  But  the  terraced  hill  or  moun- 
tain, serving  the  purpose  of  the  horologe  of  water,  recalls  the  fact 
that  the  pyramidal  temples,  constructed  in  stages,  were  artificial 
reproductions  of  the  mount  of  paradise,  thus  conceived  as  a  moun- 
tain of  degrees.  It  was  upon  its  summit  penetrating  the  heavens 
that  the  Persians  located  the  celestial  river,  the  waters  given  by 
Mazdla,  and  it  was  upon  the  same  summit  that  the  Hindus  con- 
ceived the  divine  Ganges  to  pour  its  waters,  which  flowed  down 
from  thence  through  the  three  worlds,  being  gathered  into  a  single 
reservoir  in  each  region.  Are  not  all  these  traditionary  ideas  con- 
nected with  the  celestial  horologe  supplied  from  the  heavenly 
river  that  rolls  its  silvery  tide  between  the  constellations  Aquila 
and  Lyra  ?  If  so,  such  was  the  location  of  the  primitive  Su-Meru. 

3d.  Here  we  find  the  route  of  the  chariots.  This  recalls  the 
legend  of  the  Asvins,  the  Vedic  "  horsemen,"  who  were  born  in 
the  "  Uttara-Kuru  of  the  firmament."  They  ride  together  "in 
chariots,  all  the  parts  of  which  are  in  threes."  The  celestial 
horses  were  born  on  the  banks  of  the  sacred  river,  and  this  river, 
identified  with  the  milky  way,  actually  cuts  the  zodiacal  band  in 
one  instance  at  Sagittarius,  in  the  other  at  Gemini,  two  asterisms 
which  I  have  assimilated  to  the  two  pairs  of  twins  born  of  Saranyti, 
the  "cosmical  storm-cloud,"  daughter  of  Trashtar,  "  the  creator." 
Pegasus  was  born  near  the  source  of  waters,  likewise,  and  the  head 
of  the  winged  horse  lies  less  than  30°  from  the  milky  way  in  the 
vicinity  of  Sagitta. 

SEC.  165.  It  is  well  known  that  the  constellation  Lyra  was  rep- 
resented anciently  under  three  different  forms,  namely,  that  of  a 
Tortoise,  of  a  VuHure,  and  finally  of  a  Lyre.  To  each  of  these 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  408 

forms  certain  important  ideas  were  attached,  which  I  wish  to  pre- 
.  sent ;  and  first  of  the  cosmical  Tortoise,  according  to  Chinese  tradi- 
tion.     Dr.   Schlegel,   to   whom  again   we   appeal  for  information, 
relates  the  facts  as  follows :  — 

"  In  all  the  cosmogonies,  the  solstice  of  winter  was  considered  as 
the  epoch  of  the  creation,  the  various  peoples  believing  that  the 
world  had  been  created  at  that  instant.  From  this  notion  is  derived 
the  Chinese  fiction,  that  in  the  times  of  Thao-tang,  that  is,  Yao, 
there  was  in  the  state  of  Laos  a  divine  Tortoise  a  thousand  years 
old,  and  more  than  three  feet  square.  Upon  its  back  there  were 
characters  in  the  form  of  tetrads,  which  recounted  all  the  events 
that  had  occurred  since  the  separation  of  chaos;  for  this  reason  it 
was  termed  by  the  emperor  the  4  chronology  of  the  Tortoise.'  " 1 

Although  the  subjoined  passage  has  been  in  part  presented  before, 
it  ought  to  appear  here  entire  in  connection  with  the  foregoing :  — 

"  '  To  the  west  of  the  mountain  Yuen  Kiao  is  the  lake  of  the 
stars,  which  is  a  thousand  Chinese  Li  in  length.  In  this  lake  is  a 
divine  Tortoise,  having  eight  feet  and  six  eyes.  Upon  its  back  it 
carries  the  images  of  the  seven  stars  of  the  chariot,  of  the  sun,  of 
the  moon,  and  of  the  eight  celestial  regions.  Upon  the  lower  side 
of  its  shell  is  the  image  of  the  five  summits  and  of  the  four  canals.' 
That  is  to  say,  upon  the  back  of  this  animal  is  traced  the  celestial 
map,  and  upon  its  lower  side  the  terrestrial,  as  said  in  the  Book  of 
Rites:  '  Above,  it  is  round,  imitating  the  heavens  ;  below,  it  is  square, 
imitating  the  earth.'  "  2 

The  reference  of  this  legend  to  the  mount  of  paradise,  and  thus 
the  definite  association  with  this  mountain  of  the  Chinese  cosmo- 
gony, were  points  fully  established  in  the  fifth  chapter  (Sec.  61). 
Nor  can  there  be  any  less  doubt  that  the  other  legend,  relating  to 
the  "chronology  of  the  Tortoise,"  had  primitive  reference  to  the 
same  locality.  In  such  case  it  is  necessary  to  identify  the  constel- 
lation Lyra,  otherwise  termed  the  Tortoise,  with  that  upon  whose 
back  the  chronology  of  the  world,  since  the  separation  of  chaos  and 
the  birth  of  man,  was  supposed  to  be  recorded.  Admit  that  this 
asterism  constituted  the  celestial  pole  at  the  period  to  which  these 
legendary  conceptions  pertain,  a,nd  we  have  a  complete  explanation 
of  their  origin,  and  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  account  for 
their  origin  upon  any  other  hypothesis.  In  fact  we  have  very  clear 
and  direct  proof  of  this  hypothesis,  if  we  compare  these  two  legends 
1  UranograpJiie  Chinois,  pp.  64,  65.  2  fbid.,  p.  61. 


404 


HAR-MOAD. 


of  the  Tortoise  with  the  two  personages  also  assimilated  to  Lyra 
and  Aquila,  as  symbols  of  the  two  principles,  male  and  female,, 
heaven  and  earth,  whose  marriage  at  the  period  of  the  winter  sol- 
stice results  in  the  birth  of  creation  and  of  man.  To  my  mind, 
then,  it  is  very  difficult  to  avoid  the  conclusion  derived  from  these 
facts  that  Lyra  was  actually  the  celestial  pole  at  the  epoch  of  the 
origin  of  these  primeval  and  traditionary  notions,  pertaining  alike 
to  the  cosmogony  and  the  first  abode  of  humanity. 

The  origin  and  name  of  the  L\re,  as  connected  with  this  constel- 
lation, is  thus  related  by  M.  Dupuis :  — 

"  This  constellation  passed  for  being  the  Lyre  which  Mercury 
made  from  the  back  of  a  Tortoise,  and  which  he  gave  to  Orpheus." 
"  They  say  that  the  Nile,  after  its  overflow,  having  retired  to  its 
bed,  left  upon  the  sand  a  Tortoise,  which  had  fallen  to  putrefaction 
except  its  nerves  (and  shell),  which  being  touched  by  Mercury  put 
forth  sounds.  Mercury,  in  imitation  of  what  he  had  done  with  this 
shell,  constructed  a  musical  instrument  in  this  form."  "  They  say 
that  at  the  first  the  number  of  the  strings  was  seven,  equal  to  that 
of  the  Pleiades,  of  which  Ma'ia,  his  mother,  was  one."  l 

Note  in  the  above  account  that  the  Lyre  is  made  from  the  shell 
of  the  Tortoise,  evidently  one  with  the  cosmical  and  chronological 
Tortoise  of  the  Chinese  traditions.  As  for  the  form  and  name  of 
the  Vulture,  it  is  too  well  known  to  need  authentication.  Our 
celestial  globes  frequently  represent  the  Lyre  as  being  held  in  the 
talons  of  the  Vulture.  The  two  names  respectively,  Vultur  cadens 
and  Vultur  volans,  were  often  given  to  the  Lyre  and  Eagle  by  the 
Latins.  The  celestial  Lyre  was  supposed  to  symbolize  the  harmony 
of  the  sphere,  and  the  same  idea  seems  implied  in  the  fact  that  the 
Chinese  asterism  of  the  "  Horologe  of  water  "  presided  over  music. 
The  connection  of  the  Tortoise  with  the  cosmos,  and  with  chrono- 
logy, of  Mercury,  as  cosmical  deity,  with  the  Lyre  made  from  the 
shell  of  the  same  Tortoise,  symbolizing  the  harmony  of  creation, 
seems  strongly  to  favor  the  supposition  that,  quite  extensively  in 
antiquity,  this  very  constellation  was  definitely  associated  with  the 
period  when  creation's  harmonies  first  pealed  forth. 

SEC.  166.  We  come  now  to  the  identification  of  the  constellations 
Aquila  and  Lyra  as  the  first  man  and  woman.  In  reference  to  the 
Eagle  we  have  the  following  legendary  history  as  related  by  Dr. 
William  Smith  :  — 

1  Origin,  etc.,  iii.  pt.  2d,  p.  132. 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  405 

"  Merops  (Mepo<//).  1.  King  of  the  Island  of  Cos,  husband  of  the 
nymph  Ethemea,  and  father  of  Euraelus.  His  wife  was  killed  by 
Diana  because  she  had  neglected  to  worship  that  goddess.  Merops, 
in  order  to  rejoin  his  wife,  wished  to  make  away  with  himself,  but 
Juno  changed  him  into  an  Eagle,  whom  she  placed  among  the  stars. 
2.  King  of  the  ^Ethiopians,  by  whose  wife,  Clymene,  Helios  be- 
came the  father  of  Phaethon."  l 

Thus,  Merops  is  to  be  identified  with  the  constellation  of  the 
Eagle,  or  Aquila.  But  to  the  above  extract  should  be  added  the 
following  :  "  Meropes  (Me/sorres),  an  ancient  name  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Island  of  Cos,  from  an  early  king,  Merops  "  (Lidd.  and  Scott, 
Gr.  Lex.,  sub  Me/DoW).  It  remains  now  to  show  that  the  name 
Merops  is  only  another  form,  of  the  word  Meru,  applied  to  the  first 
men  issuing  from  the  sacred  mount,  that  is  to  say,  the  Meropes. 
In  reference  to  the  locality  of  this  original  human  abode,  M.  Lenor- 
mant  observes :  — 

"  The  culminating  points  are  the  Belurtag  and  the  vast  plateau 
of  Pamir,  so  well  calculated  to  sustain  a  primitive  population  yet 
in  a  pastoral  state,  and  of  which  the  name  under  its  first  form  was 
Upa-Meru,  'the  country  under  the  Mem,'  or,  perhaps,  Upa-Mira, 
4  the  country  near  the  lake,'  which  itself  had  been  the  motive  of  the 
appellation  Meru.  There  are  again  certain  traditions  of  the  Greeks 
that  force  themselves  upon  our  notice,  particularly  that  involved  in 
the  sacred  phraseology  Meropes  anthropoi  (MepoTrcs  <xi'#pa)7roi),  which 
can  mean  only  '-the  men  issued  from  Meru.'' '  "Among  the  Hindus 
the  men  before  the  deluge,  as  well  as  those  after  the  deluge,  descend 
from  Meru.  It  is  there  that  we  find  the  Uttara-Kuru,  veritable 
terrestrial  paradise,  the  traditions  relative  to  which  were  collected 
by  Megasthenes.  It  is  there,  also,  that  we  are  conducted  by  the 
paradisiacal  myth  of  the  Meropes  among  the  Greeks,  that  is,  the 
4  men  of  Meru,''  a  myth  which  had  been  transported  to  Greece  and 
localized  in  the  island  of  Cos."  2 

As  the  interpretation  here  given  to  the  Greek  phrase  Meropes 
anthropoi  may  seem  to  many  classical  students  unauthorized,  it  is 
well  to  note  the  fact  that  it  had  been  suggested  long  before  by  no 
less  a  critic  than  M.  Renan,  thus :  "  Compare  the  paradisiacal  myth 
of  the  Meropes  among  the  Greeks,  and  the  expression  Meropes 
anthropoi,  t  the  men  issued  from  Meru.'  "  3  It  is  certainly  a  strik- 

1  Class.  Die.,  art.  "  Merops." 

2  Frag,  de  Berose,  pp.  303,  304.    Cf.  Homer,  Iliad,  A.  v.  250,  B.  v.  285,  G.  v.  402. 

3  De  rOrig.  du  Langage,  p.  228,  note  2. 


406 


HAR-MOAD. 


ing  confirmation  of  the  interpretation  thus  supported,  that  the  same 
name  Merops  is  connected  with  that  of  Ethiopia,  a  country  particu- 
larly mentioned  by  Moses  in  his  geographical  description  of  Eden, 
this  being  of  course  the  Asiatic  and  not  the  African  ^Ethiopia. 
Finally,  the  name  Cos  given  to  the  island  ruled  by  Merops  can  be 
no  other  than  Cush,  by  which  the  Cushite  race  was  so  generally 
known.  Merops  is,  then,  only  another  name  of  the  first  man,  ap- 
plied to  the  primeval  abode  of  humanity  under  the  form  Meru,  like 
Asgard  from  Askur,  among  the  Scandinavians,  and  As-kar,  "  pro- 
pitious summit,"  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  Euphrates  valley. 
It  is  very  significant  for  us  here  that  the  great  cosmical  or  world- 
tree  of  the  Scandinavian  traditions  had  its  roots  in  the  earth,  its 
branches  reaching  the  heavens,  while  on  its  top  was  perched  an 
eagle  surveying  all  things  below.  The  Graruda,  or  Eagle,  of  Aryan 
mythology,  also  is  assigned  to  the  highest  summit  in  Grorotman, 
"  paradise,"  where  he  wages  war  upon  the  serpents.  Thus,  it  is  im- 
possible to  avoid  the  conclusion  from  these  data  that  the  constella- 
tion of  Aquila  was  definitely  associated  with  Meru  and  with  the 
first  man.  It  was  the  original  Su-Meru,  or  closely  connected  with 
that  region. 

The  literal  sense  of  the  Greek  phrase  meropes  anthropoi  is  "  ar- 
ticulately speaking  men,"  and  Mr.  Buckley  so  renders  it  uniformly 
in  his  version  of  the  Iliad.  Thus  merops  (/uepo^)  signifies  literally 
"dividing  the  voice;"  that  is,  speaking,  endowed  with  speech,  this 
being  the  characteristic  of  man,  as  distinguished  from  animals. 
On  the  other  hand,  Professor  Curtius  agrees  with  Professor  Fick, 
in  deriving  merops  from  marp,  "  to  seize,  to  gripe,"  thence,  "  he  who 
seizes,  holds,  gripes,"  from  which  the  notion  of  griffon,  funda- 
mental idea  of  cherub  in  "  cherubim."  Thence  comes  again  the 
notion  of  touching,  "he  who  touches,  feels,  understands,"1  etc. 
The  Garuda,  or  Eagle  of  the  Hindus,  was  one  of  the  griffons,  and 
thus  all  goes  to  show  that  Doctors  Gesenius,  Delitzsch,  M.  Renan, 
and  others  were  correct  in  assimilating  the  idea  of  the  "  cherubim  " 
to  the  Aryan  Gruphes,  etc.,  although  the  etymology  of  the  term  is 
purely  Semitic,  as  proved  in  our  twelfth  chapter  (Sec.  130).  Thus, 
Merops  must  be  assimilated  variously;  1st.  To  the  constellation 
Aquila;  2d.  To  the  paradisiacal  man  issued  from  Mt.  Meru;  3d. 
Especially  to  the  man  of  Meru  as  endowed  with  speech  and  under- 

1  Grundziige,  p.  456. 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  407 

standing.  Being  so  directly  associated  with  the  traditions  centring 
in  the  sacred  mount,  this  asterism  must  be  taken  for  that  region 
very  nearly  answering  to  the  primitive  Su-Meru,  or  celestial  pole, 
supposed  to  be  penetrated  by  the  summit  of  that  mountain. 

SEC.  167.  We  turn  attention  now  briefly  to  the  constellation 
Lyra,  under  the  form  of  the  Vulture,  assimilated  to  the  great 
mother,  evidently  in  this  case  the  first  woman  placed  at  the  side  of 
the  first  man.  M.  De  Rogue  has  the  following  upon  the  Egyptian 
hieroglyph  of  the  Vulture :  "  The  Vulture  was  the  symbol  of  the 
mother.  The  (phonetic)  value  Ma  comes  from  the  word  Ma-t, 
*  mother.'"1  Sir  G.  Wilkinson  observes  that  " Maut,  the  'mother' 
of  all,  or  the  maternal  principle,  probably  the  Mot  (Mud)  of  Sancho- 
niathou,  appears  to  be  sometimes  a  character  of  Buto,  primeval 
darkness,  from  which  sprang  light."2  Professor  Romieu  furnishes 
the  proof  that  in  the  Egyptian  system  of  Decans,  the  hieroglyph 
of  the  Vulture  actually  designated  the  constellation  Lyra,  other- 
wise represented  as  a  Vulture,  thus  :  "  I  believe  myself  ...  to  be 
in  the  truth  in  identifying  the  asterism  Ma-t  with  the  Greek  con- 
stellation of  the  Lyre."3  It  is  probable  that  some  connection  exists 
between  Mdia,  name  of  the  mother  of  Mercury,  associated  with 
the  Lyre,  constructed  of  the  back  of  a  Tortoise,  and  the  Egyptian 
Ma,  from  Ma-t,  "  mother."  The  direct  analogy  of  conception  also 
between  Mot,  "  Mud,"  as  mother  of  all,  and  the  habits  of  the  tor- 
toise, living  in  muddy  places,  is  worthy  of  note  here.  Finally,  to 
these  evidences  are  to  be  added  the  Chinese  legends  respecting  the 
"Conductor  of  the  Taurus"  and  the  "  Female  weaver." 

The  primitive  reference,  then,  of  the  two  asterisms  Aquila  and 
Lyra  to  the  first  human  pair  is  a  matter  too  plain  to  admit  of  serious 
question,  in  view  of  the  facts  now  before  us.  If  the  primeval  tradi- 
tions respecting  paradise  centred  geographically  in  Mt.  Meru,  then 
the  same  traditions  centred  astronomically  in  these  two  constella- 
tions;  and  since  the  summit  of  this  mountain  was  supposed  to  pen- 
etrate the  heavens  precisely  at  the  celestial  pole,  these  asterisms 
constituted  the  Su-Meru  of  the  period,  to  which  the  traditions 
themselves  pertained.  But  Lyra,  or  the  Tortoise,  was  rather  the 
true  pole,  and  this  explains  the  ancient  idea,  represented  even  upon 
the  art  monuments,  that  the  heavens  rested  upon  the  back  of  a 

1  Chrest.  Egyptierine,  1st  pt.,  p.  61,  m.  7,         2  Rawl.,  Herod.,  il  p.  241, 
3  Sur  un  Decan,  etc.,  p.  39. 


408  JIAR-MOAD. 

tortoise.  M.  Lajard  produces  the  figure  of  an  Etruscan  candelabra, 
represented  as  being  held  in  the  hands  of  a  female,  clothed  in  a 
garment  of  the  constellated  heavens,  and  standing  upon  the  back  of 
a  tortoise.1  M.  Dupuis  very  properly  insisted,  I  think,  that  the 
obvious  meaning  of  this  legend  was,  that  the  axis  of  the  heavens 
rested  on  the  back  of  the  Tortoise,  or,  in  other  terms,  that  this 
constellation  was  actually  the  celestial  pole,  where  the  legend  took 
its  rise.  It  is  utterly  impossible,  in  fact,  to  give  any  other  meaning 
to  it,  except  the  most  puerile,  and  at  the  same  time  the  most  im- 
probable, namely,  that  the  ancients  really  supposed  the  heavens  to 
rest  on  the  back  of  a  huge,  living  tortoise. 

We  direct  attention  now  to  certain  constellations,  located  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  Lyra  and  Aquila,  obviously  involving  some 
distinct  references,  astronomically  speaking,  to  the  history  of  the 
first  human  pair  as  detailed  in  the  Mosaic  record.  No  point 
seems  better  established  in  Hebrew  lexicography  than  the  fact 
that  the  word  Na-khash  (trnn),  designating  the  serpent  of  Eden, 
denotes  astronomically  the  constellation  Draco,  or  the  "Great 
Serpent,"  coiled  around  the  present  celestial  pole.  As  represented 
upon  my  globe,  the  head  of  Draco  is  not  over  6°  from  that  of 
the  Vulture,  identical  with  Lyra ;  the  Vulture,  as  we  have  seen, 
being  put  for  the  great  mother,  evidently  the  mother  of  Eden. 
The  nearer  proximity  of  Draco  to  the  asterism  put  for  the  great 
mother  than  to  that  assimilated  to  the  great  father  accords 
perfectly  with  the  Mosaic  history  of  the  fall,  which  represents  the 
woman  as  being  first  deceived.  To  proceed,  however,  it  is  said  in 
relation  to  the  serpent :  "  I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and  the 
woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed;  it  shall  bruise  thy  head, 
and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel "  (Gen.  iii.  15).  That  the  Asiatic 
Hercules  represents  the  seed  of  the  woman  has  been  already  well 
established.  Turning  then  to  the  constellation  Hercules,  we  find 
his  heel  less  than  2°  from  the  head  of  Draco,  in  the  act  of  stamping 
upon  it!  The  combinations  here  established  are  certainly  very 
remarkable  ;  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  of  anything  more 
striking,  more  direct  and  conclusive.  The  Mosaic  record  itself  is 
hardly  more  intelligible,  as  pertaining  to  these  matters,  than  the 
symbolical  representations  here  presented  to  view.  That  which 
makes  everything  plain  and  palpable  is  the  fact,  now  placed  be- 
i  Culte  <k  Venus,  PI.  III.  A. 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  409 

yond  question,  that  Aquila  and  Lyra  really  represent  the  paradisi- 
acal man  and  woman,  or  the  great  father  and  mother.  Such  being 
the  case,  the  close  proximity  of  the  head  of  Draco  and  of  the  heel 
of  Hercules,  in  the  very  act  of  bruising  it,  shows  for  itself  a  direct 
relation  to  the  Biblical  account  of  the  fall  and  of  the  promise. 
This,  then,  is  the  third  time  that  we  have  found  these  events 
recorded  in  the  heavens.  The  vital  relation  of  these  three  discov- 
eries to  each  other  is  quite  important  to  be  considered.  The  first 
representation  is  connected  with  the  signs  Libra  and  Scorpio.  To 
all  appearance,  it  has  no  relation  to  any  other.  But  the  zodiacal 
theme  assumed  in  the  fourth  plate  reveals  the  existence  of  a  second 
one,  which  more  fully  explains  the  origin  and  import  of  the  first. 
Finally,  on  assuming  a  celestial  pole  answering  to  the  theme  of  the 
fourth  plate,  we  make  the  discovery  of  the  third  record  connected  with 
it.  Thus  each  one  in  some  sense  conditions  the  others,  and  the 
three  combined  prove  the  existence  of  an  express  arrangement,  of 
a  scientific  principle  underlying  them  all.  In  other  terms,  they 
demonstrate  the  truth  of  our  chronological  hypothesis,  and  that 
the  star  Vega  in  Lyra  was  the  pole  star  at  the  period  to  which  the 
primitive  traditions  of  the  world  pertained. 

SEC.  168.  I  desire  to  recall  here  certain  facts  previously  verified, 
and  to  present  some  new  data,  the 'united  force  of  which  will  be 
found  to  be  very  conclusive.  We  have  seen  that  the  cuneiform  Ah, 
"to  make,  to  build,  to  create,"  was  a  symbolic  designation  of  the 
Babylonian  Mercury,  who  had  his  sanctuary  in  the  chapel  of  a 
cubical  form,  constituting  the  eighth  stage  of  the  tower  of  Borsippa, 
which  represented  consequently  the  eighth  celestial  region,  answer- 
ing to  Su-Meru  or  the  pole  star.  The  connection  of  Mercury  with 
the  heavenly  Lyre,  constructed  with  seven  cords  in  honor  of  his 
mother  Mai'a,  has  been  also  established.  It  has  been  shown,  more- 
over, that  Mercury  was  a  Cabirus ;  and  the  term  Ah,  by  which  he 
was  denoted,  was  identified  with  the  Aryan  radical  v4.&,  "to  pen- 
etrate, to  pierce,"  as  the  rocky  summit  pierces  the  sky;  from  the 
same  radical  were  derived  the  various  forms  Akman,  "  a  stone," 
also  "heaven  ;  "  Aktan,  "eight,"  and  the  Greek  Akman,  "  heaven," 
likewise  "anvil,"  the  same  term  being  the  name  of  a  Cabirus. 
Again,  the  reader  is  familiar  with  the  fact  that  the  Phoenician 
Eshmun,  whose  name  signifies  "  the  eighth,"  was  considered  the 
eighth  Cabirus,  and  expressly  associated  with  the  eighth  celestial 


410 


•  HAR-MOAD. 


region,  answering  thus  to  that  of  the  pole  star ;  and  from  all  the 
facts  it  is  evident  that  Mercury  should  be  connected  with  the  same 
region.  Now  the  mother  of  Eshmun,  as  shown  by  Dr.  Movers,  was 
traditionally  the  pole  star;  and  according  to  the  same  author  Esh- 
mun was  identical  with  the  Egyptian  Thoth,  which  is  only  another 
name  for  Mercury.1  Hence,  as  the  two  personages  are  one,  Eshmun 
and  Mercury  must  have  the  same  mother,  who  is  also  to  be  identified 
with  the  celestial  pole.  This  cannot  be  the  present  pole  star,  as 
Dr.  Movers  seems  to  think,  for  these  two  Cabiriac  personages  were 
cosmical  divinities ;  a  fact  that  enforces  us  to  assume  the  primitive 
pole  star  as  their  mother.  Now  Ma'ia,  the  mother  of  Mercury, 
although  regarded  as  one  of  the  Pleiades,  must  be  in  some  way  con- 
nected with  the  celestial  pole ;  for  her  father  was  Atlas,  and  the 
axis  of  the  heavens  was  thought  to  rest  between  his  shoulders ;  at 
other  times,  however,  Atlas  was  conceived  as  a  mountain,  on  whose 
summit  the  heavens  and  all  the  stars  were  supported.  This  re- 
minds us  of  the  Tortoise,  on  whose  back  the  axis  of  the  heavens 
rested.  It  is  obvious  that  all  these  data  should  lead  us  to  assume 
the  Lyre  as  being  the  pole  star,  which  was  the  mother  of  Eshmun 
as  well  as  of  Mercury.  This  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  Lyra  was 
otherwise  represented  as  a  vulture,  symbol  of  the  great  mother. 
Finally,  the  character  of  AtlaS,  father  of  Ma'ia,  when  he  takes  the 
form  of  mountain  god,  answers  only  to  that  of  Meru,  on  whose 
summit  the  heavens  rest,  and  especially  the  axis  of  the  heavens. 

Thus,  when  it  is  said  that  the  mother  of  Eshmun  was  the  pole 
star,  it  must  be  admitted  that  no  other  asterism  fulfills  the  'condi- 
tions of  this  statement  so  well  as  Lyra ;  and  when  it  is  said  that 
the  mother  of  Mercury  was  Ma'ia,  her  father  being  Atlas,  a  moun- 
tain god,  it  is  difficult  to  understand  any  other  mountain  than  Meru, 
or  any  asterism  but  the  constellation  of  the  Lyre,  constructed  by 
Mercury  in  her  honor.  Our  object,  however,  in  the  present  section 
has  not  been  merely  to  confirm  the  hypothesis,  already  so  well  sup- 
ported, respecting  the  primitive  celestial  pole.  We  have  aimed  to 
show,  also,  that  the  eighth  Cabirus  was  directly  associated  with  this 
polar  region,  and  consequently  with  this  constellation.  It  was  pre- 
cisely here,  as  the  key-stone  of  the  celestial  vault,  the  heavenly  tem- 
ple, that  was  placed  the  dressed  stone  Akman,  symbol  of  heaven,  as 
well  as  of  the  Cabirus  bearing  this  name. 

1  Die  Phcenizier,  i.  pp.  527,  530. 


ZODIACAL  CHRONOLOGY.  411 

SEC.  169.     But  it  is  time  to  bring  the  investigations  of  the  pre- 
sent chapter  to  a  close.     The  characteristic  features,  geographically 
and  historically,  of  the  Gran-Eden  of  Genesis  we  have  found  in- 
scribed in  that  particular  celestial  region  around  and  centring   in 
the  constellation  Lyra ;  and  it  is  impossible  to  doubt,  in  view  of  the 
facts  before  us,  that  this  region  constituted  the  original  celestial 
paradise,  abode  of  the  divine  hierarchy,  corresponding  to  the  terres- 
trial paradise,  the  home  of  primeval  humanity.     Just  as  all  the 
traditions  and  legends  centre  geographically  and  historically  in  the 
one,  so  the  same  traditions   and   legends   centre  astronomically  in 
the  other.     The  analogy,  or  better,  the  identity,  between  the  two 
orders  of  conceptions  is  everywhere  complete ;  and  the  coincidence 
thus  presented  to  the  mind  has  no  parallel  in  the  history  of  an- 
tiquarian researches.     We  establish,  then,  beyond  question,  the  pre- 
cise era  astronomically,  and  thence   historically,  of  the  paradisiacal 
man,  that  era  from  which  the  most  primitive  traditions  of  the  world 
were   ultimately  derived.     Lyra  was  the  original  Su-Meru  of  the 
Hindus,  Shemal  of  the  Haranites,  Su-mi-lu  of  the  cuneiform  texts. 
It  was  in  the  particular  region  of  Su-Meru  that  the  summit  of  the 
sacred  mount  penetrated  the  heavens ;  and  since,  according  to  all 
the  traditions,  the  region  thus  penetrated  was  exactly  the  celestial 
pole,  such  was  the  constellation  just  named.     The  chronology  which 
results  from  this,  as  the  practical  astronomer  will  perceive  at  once, 
is,  in  round  numbers,  12,500  years  from  the  present  time.     Each  of 
the  three  chapters  devoted  to  this  subject  results  independently  in 
this  date  ;  they  supplement  and  confirm  each  other,  therefore,  afford- 
ing a  threefold  basis  for  our  hypothesis,  which,  in  my  estimation, 
entitles  it  to  be  considered  a  scientific  fact. 

It  will  be  now  apparent  to  the  mind  of  every  reader,  not  only 
that  the  zodiacal  system  and  the  entire  sphere,  as  primitively  con- 
structed, were  a  most  ingeniously  devised  scheme,  but  that  they 
were  a  practical  embodiment  of  the  sacred  tradition  and  science 
which  formed  really  the  basis  of  the  ancient  religions  and  the  civil- 
izations growing  out  of  them.  The  date  of  the  origin  of  those 
ideas  constituting  this  sacred  lore,  as  will  be  readily  perceived,  is 
itself  definitely  fixed  by  the  very  zodiacal  arrangement  which  is 
seen  to  have  been  designed  to  incorporate  them.  Nor  is  there  any- 
thing factitious  or  merely  mythical  in  the  results  that  have  been 
attained.  The  geographical  locality  of  the  Har-Moad;  the  "  monn- 


412 


•HAR-MOAD. 


tain  of  the  assembly,"  has  been  definitely  ascertained ;  the  primi- 
tive traditions  centring  in  it  from  almost  every  quarter  of  the  old 
world  have  been  successively  authenticated ;  and  in  these  traditions 
have  been  detected  certain  uniform  astronomical  references  that 
furnish  the  key  to  the  original  condition  of  the  heavens  in  relation 
to  the  earth,  from  which  our  chronology  has  been  deduced.  But 
this  is  not  all ;  we  know  now  by  whom  that  marvelous  system  em- 
bodied in  the  primitive  sphere  was  wrought  out ;  by  whom  the 
sacred  science,  originating  at  a  period  forgotten  by  the  world,  had 
been  transmitted  to  after  ages,  and  incorporated  in  the  religious  and 
civil  institutions  of  antiquity ;  by  whom  those  grand  ideas  pertain- 
ing to  the  cosmos,  the  temple,  and  to  man  had  been  taught  to  man- 
kind; by  whom  that  primeval  revelation,  more  enduring  than  parch- 
ments, than  columns  of  brick  or  of  stone,  or  even  the  massive 
pyramids  themselves,  —  we  know,  I  say,  by  whom  this  revelation 
had  been  embodied  in  those  celestial  hieroglyphs,  more  ancient  than 
the  paleographical  systems  of  Egypt,  of  China,  or  of  Chaldaea. 
The  dressed  stone  that  had  been  raised  to  the  centre  of  the  hea- 
venly vault,  symbol  of  the  completion  of  the  great  world  temple, 
when  the  "  morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of  God 
shouted  for  joy,"  —  this  stone,  I  say,  had  a  mark  upon  it;  and  it  is 
impossible  to  mistake  its  import,  or  the  hand  that  placed  it  there. 
We  distinctly  recognize,  in  fact,  in  these  wonderful  achievements 
now  present  to  our  minds  the  work  of  the  Cabiri,  of  the  temple- 
craft.  These  were  the  brothers  par  excellence,  and  they  hail  us  to- 
day from  the  heights  of  the  Har-Moad,  and  from  across  the  vista  of 
twelve  thousand  years!  Theirs  was  the  noble  civilization  of  the 
far  distant  era,  which  had  been  planted,  not  around  the  pyramids 
of  Sakkara  nor  of  Borsippa,  but  upon  the  shining  slopes  of  that 
propitious  mountain  of  which  these  were  but  artificial  reproduc- 
tions. Beautiful  as  the  heavens,  where  rolled  the  chariot  of  the 
Aryas,  or  issued  the  celestial  river  from  beneath  the  throne  of 
God,  was  this  golden  age  of  humanity.  But  a  frightful  calamity 
had  befallen  the  human  family,  and  the  light  of  that  happy  civiliza- 
tion had  gone  out  in  darkness.  If  it  had  been  forgotten  by  the 
world ;  if  its  glory  had  faded  out  from  the  recollections  of  even  the 
oldest  races  known  to  history,  like  Merops,  its  representative,  it  had 
been  translated  and  placed  among  the  stars.  There  we  have  read 
the  record  of  its  loss  and  its  ruin;  there,  too,  of  its  last  hope  —  in 
the  promised  seed  of  the  woman ! 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 
CHAPTER  XVI. 

A  SUMMARY   OF   RESULTS. 

SEC.  170.  The  point  of  view  from  which  we  are  now  able  to 
contemplate  the  ancient  world  affords  advantages  such  as  have  been 
rarely  accorded  to  modern  investigators.  It  is  not  from  the  sum- 
mits of  the  pyramids  of  the  Nile  valley,  nor  from  those  of  the 
mounds  scattered  upon  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  that 
we  look  down  to-day  upon  those  scenes  where  the  thrilling  events 
of  so  many  epochs  have  transpired ;  but  it  is  intellectually  from  the 
heights  of  that  sacred  mountain  which  overlooks  all  Asia,  of  which 
the  pyramids  themselves  were  but  artificial  reproductions,  and  in 
which  the  earliest  recollections  of  all  the  races  centred,  that  we  are 
now  able  to  trace  out  their  divergent  paths,  strewed  with  the  relics 
of  more  than  a  hundred  centuries.  Nor  is  it,  again,  the  desolate 
waste  of  the  overflowing  Nile  that  stretches  out  before  us,  nor  yet 
the  annual  floods  burying  beneath  their  surface  the  fertile  plains  of 
Babylon  and  of  Chaldsea,  whose  noisy  tumult  strikes  the  ear.  On 
that  vast  mountain  pile,  the  great  watershed  of  the  Asiatic  world, 
where  the  cosmogonies  were  first  revealed  and  the  diluvian  annals 
first  recorded,  we  seem  to  listen  to  the  surging  billows  of  the  del- 
uge itself ;  of  that  watery  chaos,  in  fact,  from  whose  thick  dark- 
ness the  Voice  went  forth :  "  Let  there  be  light !  and  there  was 
light."  So  far  as  the  sacred  books  of  antiquity  afford  any  indica- 
tions, so  far  as  the  earliest  known  traditions  offer  any  reliable 
hints,  we  are  here  at  the  beginning  of  history,  and  the  ground  be-v 
neath  us  is  that  first  trod  by  the  foot  of  man.  If  other  historical 
epochs  anterior  to  this  are  to  be  supposed,  or  if  other  portions  of 
the  earth's  surface  had  been  previously  inhabited  by  men,  the  evi- 


414 


HAR-MOAD. 


dences  to  this  effect  must  be  drawn  from  sources  entirely  different 
from  those  to  which  we  have  referred.  The  proofs  have  been  de- 
rived from  every  quarter  of  the  old  world,  pointing  unmistakably  to 
the  high  table-lands  of  Central  Asia  as  the  original  centre  of  the 
populations  of  our  globe. 

Such,  then,  is  the  standpoint  from  which  we  now  contemplate 
the  historic  development  of  mankind.  That  which  adds  immea- 
surably to  its  advantage  is  our  ability  to  attach  to  it  a  definite 
chronological  value,  an  antiquity  of  12,500  years.  The  so-called 
geological  evidences  of  the  antiquity  of  man,  believed  by  many 
writers  to  prove  his  existence  on  the  earth  at  an  epoch  tenfold  more 
ancient  than  that  here  indicated,  give  rise  to  a  problem  purposely 
avoided  by  us  heretofore,  for  the  reason  that  we  were  in  no  sense 
prepared  to  discuss  it.  From  the  position  which  we  now  occupy 
the  case  is  quite  different.  Can  it  be  affirmed  that  these  geological 
data  enable  us  to  go  back  of  Mount  Mern,  and  to  prove  the  exist- 
ence of  man  at  a  period  prior  to  the  date  which  the  primeval  tradi- 
tions centring  in  this  very  locality  have  been  made  so  clearly  to 
establish  ?  So  far  as  concerns  the  cultured  races  of  the  old  world 
we  have  proved  their  common  origin  from  the  great  Asiatic 
Olympus,  and  this  by  means  of  their  own  traditions.  Do  these 
geological  data  show  the  existence  of  barbarous  races  still  more 
ancient  than  the  Meropes  anthropoi,  "  the  men  issued  from  Meru"  ? 
For  myself,  I  should  hesitate  to  affirm  it.  In.  the  first  place,  it 
must  be  considered  that  at  the  epoch  verified  by  us  the  obliquity 
of  the  earth's  axis  was  exactly  the  opposite  to  its  present  inclina- 
tion. The  order  of  the  seasons  was  then  completely  reversed. 
The  winter  season  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  where,  as  all  goes 
to  show,  man  first  appeared,  occurred  when  the  earth  was  at  its 
maximum  distance  from  the  sun,  while  during  the  summer  it  was 
at  its  least  distance.  The  effect  of  such  conditions  must  have  been 
to  create  drift  deposits  north  of  the  equator  at  a  rate  far  more 
rapid  than  has  occurred  during  the  last  six  thousand  years.  It  is 
the  estimated  rate  of  these  deposits  which  constitutes  the  chief 
element  of  calculation  for  man's  antiquity,  based  upon  geological 
evidences.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  from  the  foregoing  considera- 
tions, that  the  standard  heretofore  adopted  is  in  no  sense  reliable. 
For  several  thousand  years  after  the  birth  of  man,  according  to  our 
data,  the  changes  upon  the  earth's  surface,  especially  in  high  lati- 


CONCLUDING   REMARKS.  415 

tudes,  took  place  with  a  rapidity  to  which  nothing  can  be  compared 
in  more  recent  periods.  But  even  at  the  present  rate  of  deposits, 
some  of  the  best  authorities  undertake  to  account  for  all  known 
facts  upon  the  basis  of  comparatively  short  periods  of  time.  M.  F. 
Chabas,  in  a  recent  and  thoroughly  critical  work,  dealing  with  these 
geological  evidences  in  a  manner  such  as  but  few  writers  are  able 
to  do,  believes  himself  able  to  account  for  all  the  facts  within  a 
period  of  ten  thousand  years,  admitting  the  necessity,  however,  of 
a  moderate  extension  of  it  under  certain  conditions.1  Finally,  it 
should  be  observed,  so  far  as  concerns  geology,  that  the  evidences 
are  not  all  in,  that  too  many  elements  of  uncertainty  exist,  not  to 
render  it  premature  to  assume  fixed  conclusions.  Future  discov- 
eries may  change  wholly  the  conditions  of  the  problem. 

Such,  then,  are  the  reasons  chiefly  why  we  hesitate  to  go  back 
of  Mount  Meru,  and  to  assume  on  the  strength  of  geological  data 
a  period  of  human  existence  anterior  to  the  paradisiacal  man.  If 
such  an  epoch  can  be  fairly  proved,  we  shall  feel  free  to  accept  it, 
but  it  will  be  obvious  that  the  facts,  as  developed  in  our  present 
researches,  have  very '  materially  changed  the  complexion  of  this 
entire  problem.  Thus,  in  the  light  of  the  present  we  reaffirm  our 
standpoint,  chronologically  and  geographically,  at  the  beginning  of 
human  history. 

SEC.  171.  The  question  which  regards  the  primitive  condition 
of  man  has  assumed  an  importance  in  our  day  fully  equal  to  that 
respecting  his  antiquity.  The  evidences  having  a  direct  bearing 
upon  this  subject,  accumulated  in  different  parts  of  our  treatise, 
will  be  readily  recalled  by  the  reader.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say 
that  they  demonstrate  the  existence  of  a  noble  civilization,  cen- 
tring in  the  sacred  mount  of  the  northeast,  the  prevalence  of  an 
exceedingly  high  order  of  conceptions  at  the  period  to  which  the 
earliest  recollections  of  the  old  world  appertained.  It  is  evident 
that  the  fundamental  ideas  constituting  the  theoretical  basis  of 
this  civilization  were  identical  with  those  of  the  cosmos  itself. 

1  Etudes  sur  VAntiquite  historique,  pp.  9,  10.  M.  Chabas  studied  these  geolo- 
gical indications  of  man's  antiquity,  so  far  as  the  more  important  localities  in 
France  are  concerned,  on  the  very  ground  where  the  relics  of  antiquity  were 
originally  discovered.  He  gives  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  distribution  of  these 
relics  was  such  that  no  successive  chronological  eras  could  be  fairly  deduced 
from  them. 


416 


•   HAR-MOAD. 


This  was,  so  to  speak,  the  first  heaven  and  earth,  whose  model  was 
the  particular,  material  heaven  and  earth  in  which  humanity  had 
its  birth.  All  the  institutions  of  society,  in  fact,  were  constructed 
after  the  same  model,  and  a  profound  symbolism  presided  over  the 
whole.  Whether  as  a  cosmogony,  a  religious,  political,  or  social 
theory,  it  is  obvious  that  the  sexual  principle  was  regarded  as  the 
most  sacred,  the  most  important  of  all  great  truths.  The  world 
and  man,  the  very  constitution  of  things,  depended  upon  it. 

The  proofs  of  the  existence  of  a  high  civilization  centring  in  the 
traditional  mount  of  paradise,  and  at  the  immensely  remote  epoch 
heretofore  established,  arrange  themselves,  for  the  most  part,  under 
thd  following  general  heads  :  — 

1st.  All  the  great  civilizations  known  to  ancient  history  have 
been  traced  genealogically  to  one  common  centre,  namely,  Mt. 
Meru  of  the  Hindus,  Albordj  of  the  Persians,  Gan-Eden  of  the 
Hebrews,  Kharsak-Kurra  of  the  cuneiform  texts,  to  which  we  might 
add  the  Asgard  of  the  Scandinavians,  the  Olympus  of  the  classic 
nations,  and  even  the  solar  mountain  of  the  Egyptians  and  the  five 
summits  of  the  Chinese.  Call  to  mind  here  the  fact  of  the  common 
inheritance  of  the  doctrines  embodied  in  the  "  celestial  earth  "  or 
"terrestrial  heaven,"  of  the  symbolical  system  of  geography;  the 
theory  of  territorial  divisions,  of  land  surveying,  of  the  orienta- 
tion of  sacred  edifices,  and  the  rules  for  founding  towns,  cities,  and 
states. 

2d.  All  the  ancient  cosmogonies  had  a  common  origin,  and  they 
have  been  traced  in  the  main  to  the  same  central  region  inhabited 
by  the  first  men.  Not  only  do  they  involve  uniformly  the  same 
fundamental  ideas,  but  the  most  striking  resemblances  often  occur 
in  the  details.  That  which  is  the  most  remarkable  of  all  is  the  fact, 
developed  in  the  thirteenth  chapter,  of  a  common  astronomical  re- 
ference so  precise  and  definite  as  to  enable  us  actually  to  determine 
the  period  to  which  they  pertained ;  and  this  has  been  done  in  the 
three  chapters  on  zodiacal  chronology.  Nor  is  it  alone  the  date  of 
the  origin  of  these  systems  which  is  by  this  means  ascertained,  but 
the  locality  from  which  they  were  primitively  derived  is  made 
equally  certain  by  the  same  process.  The  discovery  of  the  celes- 
tial pole  at  the  epoch  referred  to  proved  beyond  question  that  it 
was  the  original  celestial  paradise,  traditionally  united  by  means  of 
the  sacred  mount  to  the  terrestrial.  The  particular  allusions  in  the 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS.  417 

Chinese  legend  of  the  Tortoise,  as  well  as  the  Greek  myth  relating 
to  Merops,  a  term  evidently  connected  with  Meropes  and  Meru  in 
origin,  have  each  a  like  tendency  to  fix  the  locality  where  the  cos- 
mogonies had  their  birth. 

3d.  Perhaps  the  most  conclusive  proofs  of  the  existence  of  a  high 
civilization,  of  the  prevalence  of  an  elevated  order  of  conceptions, 
at  the  period  and  in  the  geographical  region  here  assumed,  are  to 
be  found  in  connection  with  the  ancient  sphere.  The  important 
fact  must  be  admitted  that  a  well-defined  and  ingeniously  contrived 
relation  existed  between  the  internal  arrangements  of  the  sphere 
and  the  primeval  traditions  of  mankind,  fundamentally,  with  re- 
spect to  the  cosmogony  and  the  history  of  the  paradisiacal  man. 
In  fact,  the  evidences  have  constantly  accumulated  during  these  re- 
searches, that  the  sacred  science  and  tradition  of  the  old  world, 
inherited  alike  by  all  the  cultured  nations,  had  been  symbolically 
embodied  in  the  primitive  sphere.  It  is  necessary  to  go  farther 
even,  and  to  admit  that  the  first  prophecy  ever  uttered  to  man  was 
recorded  in  the  heavens ;  for  the  promise  relative  to  the  seed  of  the 
woman  may  be  read  to-day,  as  plainly  inscribed  on  the  celestial 
sphere  as  in  the  third  chapter  of  Genesis. 

The  tradition  of  the  "  golden  age,"  then,  was  not  a  myth.  The 
old  doctrine  of  a  subsequent  decadence,  of  a  sad  degeneracy  of  the 
human  race,  from  an  original  state  of  happiness  and  purity,  un- 
doubtedly embodied  a  great,  but  lamentable  truth.  Our  modern 
philosophies  of  history,  which  begin  with  the  primeval  man  as  a 
savage,  evidently  need  a  new  introduction.  Those  writers  who 
would  derive  the  origin  of  religion  and  civilization  from  a  condition 
of  savagism  should  go  back  of  Mt.  Meru  to  do  it,  and  not  content 
themselves  with  citing  .the  customs  of  existing  barbarous  tribes. 
No ;  the  primeval  man  was  not  a  savage.  He  was  born  of  the  Hea- 
ven-Father and  the  Earth-Mother.  He  was  the  beautiful,  pure 
image  of  both.  Sweet  Nature  caressed  him  on  her  generous  lap; 
she  told  him  her  secrets  without  asking,  for  she  fondly  trusted  that 
he  would  not  betray  her.  Heaven  itself  conversed  with  him ;  and 
the  constellations  taught  him  the  music  of  the  spheres."  There  was 
nothing  that  he  did  not  love,  and  there  was  nothing  that  did  not 
love  him.  All  things  whispered  to  him  what  they  were  and  why 
they  were.  The  sun  and  moon  were  his  companions,  —  almost  a 
brother  and  sister.  To  the  primeval  man,  Nature  was  conscious; 


418 


•  HAR-MOAD. 


and  her  consciousness  was  a  part  of  his  own.  Eternal  Mind  was 
present  to  him,  in  all  that  he  beheld,  in  all  that  he  felt.  The 
golden  gates  of  the  senses  were  continually  thronged  with  tender 
sympathies,  with  loving  messages,  from  the  great  world  about  him. 
Such  was  creation's  first-born  child,  with  whom  the  Holy  One  him- 
self came  down  to  dwell. 

But  there  came  that  cruel  hour  when  man  fell!  Nature  was 
ashamed  !  and  drew  the  veil  over  her  face.  Man,  too,  was  ashamed, 
and  sewed  fig-leaves  together  to  hide  his  nakedness.  But  God  was 
angry  ;  and  He  cursed  the  ground  that  had  witnessed  an  act,  a 
calamity,  so  terrible.  The  betrayer  also  met  his  doom;  and  his 
everlasting  sentence  was  written  in  the  sky.  Thus,  the  light  of 
that  beautiful  civilization  flickered  for  a  while,  like  a  candle  in  its 
socket,  and  then  went  out. 

SEC.  172.  But  before  the  flames  had  died  down  on  the  primitive 
altars,  a  faithful  band  had  kindled  their  torches,  that  they  might 
conduct  the  race  through  the  long  night,  and  finally  renew  the  fires 
in  other  times  and  in  other  climes.  If  the  evidences  adduced  in 
the  third  chapter  did  not  fully  establish  the  fact,  then  I  think  the 
frequent  additions  of  proof  in  later  studies  have  served  to  demon- 
strate that  there  existed  an  ancient  order  of  priest-kings,  having  its 
origin  in  the  very  dawn  of  history,  through  whom  the  sacred  tradi- 
tion and  science  had  been  transmitted  to  subsequent  ages.  The 
striking  uniformity  in  the  several  versions  of  the  primitive  doc- 
trines as  inherited  by  different  nations  so  widely  separated,  and  at 
a  period  so  early  as  to  preclude  the  idea  of  their  being  derived  by 
one  from  the  other  —  a  uniformity  so  great  that  we  have  been  able 
to  detect  a  precise  astronomical  feature  common  to  all  —  this  sur- 
prising analogy,  I  say,  cannot  be  accounted  for  on  the  principle  of 
ordinary  transmission  of  ideas  from  age  to  age,  especially  in  the 
absence  of  written  documents  scrupulously  preserved.  Nor  are 
these  exact  resemblances  discoverable  only  in  the  cosmogonies; 
they  crop  out  in  many  a  legend  or  custom  where  we  are  least  pre- 
pared to  find  them.  To  illustrate,  recall  the  Chinese  legend  of  the 
Tortoise,  having  the  images  of  the  seven  stars  of  the  chariot,  of  the 
eight  celestial  regions,  and  of  the  five  summits  on  its  shell;  a  triple 
reference  to  the  sacred  mount  of  paradise,  which  admits  of  no  other 
interpretation.  But  from  China  we  go  now  to  Rome,  where  we 
find  in  the  location  of  the  axis  of  the  Pantheon  another  reference 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS.  419 

to  the  seven  stars,  and  to  the  eighth  celestial  region,  considered  as 
the  seat  of  the  gods,  especially  of  Jupiter;  a  singular  proof  of  the 
exactness  with  which  the  primeval  traditions  had  been  preserved 
by  these  two  nationalities  so  distantly  removed  from  each  other. 
It  seems  to  me  impossible  that  such  accuracy  should  be  maintained 
through  ages  even,  and  by  different  races,  except  by  the  vigilant 
care  of  a  class  of  personages,  regularly  organized,  and  specially 
charged  to  preserve  the  ancient  doctrines  in  their  purity.  Eneas, 
whose  Cabiriac  character  is  quite  well  established,  is  supposed  to 
have  brought  the  sacred  science  from  Troy  to  Rome.  The  seats  of 
the  Cabiriac  worship  were  the  most  primitive  of  any,  both  in  Egypt 
and  Babylonia.  It  is  hardly  to  be  doubted,  I  think,  that  members 
of  the  same  mystic  order  laid  the  foundations  of  the  Chinese  em- 
pire. When  the  old  civilization  centring  in  Mt.  Meru  was  broken 
down,  it  is  evident  that  those  ancient  priest-kings,  whose  symbol 
was  the  Dragon,  one  with  the  Biblical  cherubim,  conducted  the 
great  migrations  diverging  from  the  original  focus  of  populations 
into  the  different  quarters  of  the  world ;  into  China,  Egypt,  Baby- 
lonia, etc.  ;  carrying  with  them  the  primeval  doctrines  which 
served  the  theoretical  basis  of  subsequent  foundations  in  these 
various  countries.  The  fact  tends  powerfully  to  support  this 
hypothesis  that,  uniformly  in  antiquity,  the  Cabiri  were  the  reputed 
founders  of  the  ancient  civilizations  and  kingdoms.  That  even  the 
Chinese  empire  should  be  included  in  this  category  is  quite  clearly 
proved  from  the  employment  of  the  written  character  Tsing,  denot- 
ing the  constellation  of  the  Dioscuri,  who  were  certainly  Cabiriac 
deities,  as  otherwise  the  symbol  of  territorial  divisions,  and  of  the 
rules  for  founding  the  state.1 

1  M.  G.  Maspero  lias  translated  an  Egyptian  text,  quite  difficult  in  many  por- 
tions, which  seems  to  me  to  indicate  the  prevalence  in  the  Nile  valley  of  those 
peculiar  ideas  and  customs  which  we  have  associated  with  the  Cabiri,  or  temple- 
craft,  and  at  a  period  prior  to  the  exodus  ojc  the  Israelite?,  according  to  Dr.  Birch 
and  others  ;  that  is  to  say,  in  the  reign  of  Scti  I ,  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty. 
The  text  contains  a  panegyric  upon  this  monarch  on  the  occasion  of  the  building 
of  a  certain  temple  ;  and  the  language  of  the  address,  in  agreement  with  prevail- 
ing practice,  is  put  by  the  scribe  into  the  mouths  of  the  gods  themselves.  The 
following  extract  is  taken  from  the  introductory  part,  and  relates  to  the  founding 
and  consecration  of  the  edifice  :  — 

"  It  is  I  who  have  founded  it  with  Sokar,  says  Ptali.  I  have  determined  with  a 
line  the  circumference  of  its  walls  ;  while  my  mouth  pronounced  the  great  for- 
mulas, Thotfi  assisted  at  the  ceremonies  with  his  sacred  books;  —  has  consolidated 


•HAR-MOAD. 

It  is,  then,  quite  apparent  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  trans- 
mission of  those  grand  ideas  which  had  constituted  the  theory  of  a 
brilliant  civilization,  whose  antiquity  was  so  great  that  its  memory 

the  walls  of  the  temple  ;  Ptah  To  tunen  has  measured  the  ground,  Turn  was  also 
present  (a).  The  stake  which  I  had  in  hand  was  of  gold  ;  I  struck  upon  it  with 
the  hammer  (b).  As  for  thee  (Seti),  thou  wast  with  me  as  geometrician  ;  thy 
two  hands  held  the  spade,  to  the  end  of  establishing  the  angles°of  the  edifice,  ac- 
cording to  the  cardinal  regions  of  heaven  (c).  The  formulas  of  the  conservators 


Genre  epialolaire,  etc.,  pp.  91,  92.) 

(«)  The  function  of  the  god  Turn,  sun  of  the  lower  hemisphere,  in  these  cere- 
monies is  difficult  to  determine,  the  text  being  quite  obscure  in  this  place. 

(6)  For  this  sentence,  M.  Maspero  refers  otherwise  to  Dr.  Brugsch's  rendering, 
which  is  to  be  preferred,  probably  :  "  The  hammer  in  my  hand  was  of  gold  ;  I 
struck  with  it  upon  the  mallet."  Even  this  version  makes  but  poor  sense  ;  and 
for  "mallet  "  it  is  obvious  we  are  to  understand  a  block  of  stone,  like  the  corner- 
stone, which,  in  the  ceremonies,  is  adjusted  by  blows  from  the  golden  hammer,  or 
gavel. 

(c)  Here,  again,  Dr.  Brugsch's  rendering  conveys  a  better  idea,  if  it  is  not 
more  exact  also  :  "  Thou  wast  with  me  in  thy  function  of  geometrician  ;  thy 
hands  carried  the  measuring-instrument,  to  establish  in  an  exact  manner  the 
angles  (of  the  temple),  according  to  the  cardinal  regions." 

(d)  Finally,  the  concluding  sentence  of  the  extract  is  very  obscure,  and  M. 
Maspero  offers  another,  which  is,  however,  hardly  more  intelligible.     The  number 
"nine"  is  in  some  way  associated  with  the  walls  of  the  structure.     For  myself, 
I  conjecture  a  reference  here  to  the  ninth  Cabirus,  as  the  father  of  the  eight 
Cabiri  is  sometimes  included  with  them ;  or  possibly  we  should  understand  the 
plot  of  nine  squares,  as  exhibited  upon  the  cosmical  seal,  heretofore  explained, 
this  again  referring  to  the  nine  earths,  or  principal  divisions,  in  the  symbolic  sys- 
tem of  geography. 

What,  then,  are  the  indications  that  the  foregoing  extract  contains  direct  allu- 
sions to  the  Cabiri,  or  ancient  temple-craft  V  1st.  Ptah  was  himself  the  chief  of 
the  Cabiriac  divinities  ;  and  his  worship  was  primitive  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile. 
2d.  Thoth,  likewise,  the  Egyptian  Mercury,  and  reputed  author  of  the  sacred 
hooks,  was  a  Cabiriac  deity  ;  and  the  city  of  Sesun,  "  eight,"  was  the  principal 
seat  of  his  worship.  The  numeral  "  eight  "  applied  to  Tholh,  and  it  connects  him 
with  Eshmun  of  the  Phoenicians.  3d.  The  "golden  hammer,"  in  the  hand  of 
Ptah,  chief  Cabiriac  personage,  was  evidently  the  insignia  of  authority,  like  the 
gavel,  and  its  use  in  these  ceremonies  reminds  us  of  the  custom  of  officially  ad- 
justing the  corner-stones  of  temples.  The  instrument  for  establishing  the  angles 
of  the  edifice,  according  to  the  cardinal  points,  was  obviously  another  implement 
appertaining  to  the  craft.  4th.  Some  mystical  sense  appears  to  have  centred  in 
the  number  "  nine  ;  "  and  this,  too,  could  relate  only  to  the  Cabiriac  mysteries. 
Thus,  I  am  strongly  of  the  opinion  that  we  have  here  a  reference,  dating  from  the 
period  as  early  as  the  time  of  Moses,  to  the  ideas  and  customs  of  the  ancient 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS.  421 

even  had  been  But  faintly  preserved  at  what  is  usually  termed  the 
opening  of  the  historical  period.  We  are  fully  justified  in  attribut- 
ing the  invention  of  letters  and  the  authorship  at  least  of  many  of 
the  sacred  books  of  antiquity  to  the  same  class  of  personages.  All 
this  goes  to  show  that  the  existence  of  authentic  records  appertain- 
ing to  the  very  first  periods  of  history,  which  had  been  preserved 
with  scrupulous  care  from  age  to  age,  is  a  matter  upon  which  no 
serious  doubts  need  be  entertained,  considering  all  the  facts  now 
before  us.  That  the  same  doctrines  and  the  same  events  which 
had  been  symbolically  represented  upon  the  sphere  should  be  em- 
bodied also  in  written  documents  is  naturally  to  be  supposed.  In 
many  instances,  without  doubt,  both  records  must  be  attributed  to 
the  same  authorship.  In  such  cases  the  analogies  existing  between 
the  two,  when  properly  understood,  would  be  very  striking,  of 
which  some  remarkable  instances  have  been  developed  as  regards 
the  Mosaic  records.  The  great  antiquity  and  perfect  reliability  of 
these  records,  therefore,  has  been  thus  most  satisfactorily  demon- 
strated. 

Like  everything  human,  it  is  doubtless  true  that  the  ancient  order 
of  priest-kings,  otherwise  termed  the  Cabiri,  suffered  a  gradual  de- 
generacy arid  corruption,  although  it  is  probable  there  were  some 
rare  and  noble  exceptions  to  the  general  rule.  It  was  through  the 
fidelity  and  devotion  of  these  few,  under  the  guidance  of  a  Divine 
Providence,  that  the  wisdom  of  the  past  was  still  preserved,  serving 
the  basis  of  new  epochs  and  new  dispensations.  Thus,  the  sacred 
fires,  first  kindled  on  the  heights  of  the  Har-Moad,  were  never 

temple-craft.  But  the  facts  here  developed  call  to  mind  a  remark  of  M.  Ma- 
riette-Bey  :  — 

"Ptah  is  thus  the  Demiurgus,  the  creator;  he  is  the  Egyptian  Vulcan,  the  first 
of  the  Cabiri ;  the  Demiurge  armed,  as  M.  Guigniaut  has  remarked,  with  the 
CREATIVE  HAMMER."  La  Mere  D'Apis,  pp.  39,  40. 

Thus,  the  mystical  hammer  in  the  hands  of  Ptah,  which  appears  in  the  cere- 
monies of  founding  the  temples  as  symbol  of  authority,  reappears  as  symbol  of 
the  creator  ;  and  it  appertains  to  Ptah  in  both  instances.  We  show  here,  1st. 
That  the  Hammer,  Hebrew  Pattisch,  like  the  cuneiform  Pa-te-shi  which  gave  the 
name  to  one  of  the  Cabiri,  appertained  especially  to  this  Egyptian  divinity, 
reputed  father  of  the  Cabiri  ;  2d.  That  there  was  a  definite  connection  between 
the  temple-croft,  the  founders  of  sacred 'edifices,  and  the  cosmical  deities ;  and  thus 
between  the  temple  itself  and  the  cosmos.  For  the  rest,  it  is  quite  probable  that 
Thor,  the  Scandinavian  god  whose  symbol  was  the  hammer,  ought  to  be  classed 
among  the  Cabiriac  divinities. 


422 


HAR-MOAD. 


wholly  extinguished  on  the  earth.  They  were  successively  renewed 
on  the  holy  "  highlands  "  of  the  past,  and  their  light  has  been  re- 
flected through  all  the  ages.  We  see,  therefore,  that  history  has 
not  been  wholly  a  blind  struggle  of  human  forces,  with  no  God  to 
shape  their  ends.  A  divine  priesthood,  charged  with  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  truth  and  to  effect  the  final  redemption  of  the  world, 
has  been  contemporaneous  with  the  entire  life  of  humanity.  God 
has  organized  himself  in  humanity  from  the  beginning,  and  it  is 
through  this  organization  that  He  has  presided  at  the  opening  of 
all  the  glorious  epochs  of  the  world. 

SEC.  173.  No  question  has  given  birth  in  modern  times  to  a  more 
extensive  literature,  to  a  great  extent  controversial,  than  that  which 
regards  the  problem  of  "  Genesis  and  geology."  Since  my  first 
tolerable  acquaintance  with  the  doctrines  of  the  ancient  cosmo- 
gonies, it  has  seemed  to  me  that  the  standpoints  respectively  of 
Genesis  and  geology  from  which  to  view  the  creation  of  the  world 
and  of  man  involved  actually  but  very  little  common  to  both,  and 
thus  that  the  necessary  elements  did  not  exist  for  a  satisfactory 
solution  of  this  problem.  Any  attempt  to  construe  the  first  and 
second  chapters  of  Genesis  —  for  the  Garden  of  Eden  is  but  the  com- 
pleted cosmos  —  upon  the  principles  of  modern  geology,  especially 
in  connection  with  the  "  nebular  hypothesis,"  must  necessarily  re- 
sult, in  my  view,  in  really  forced  if  riot  fanciful  constructions  of 
both  theories,  and  absolutely  in  a  downright  injustice  to  the  Mosaic 
system.  To  illustrate  the  hopeless  disparity  of  views  between  the 
two  schemes,  it  is  well  known  that  all  the  ancient  cosmogonies 
assume  for  the  "  beginning  "  of  things  a  primordial  watery  chaos. 
But  modern  science  demonstrates  the  original  condition  of  all  mat- 
ter to  have  been  that  of  a  luminous  ether  or  gas.  Now  we  know, 
on  one  hand,  that  a  watery  chaos  never  preceded,  in  the  order  of 
creation,  this  luminous,  gaseous  state  of  all  material  substances,  and 
we  know,  therefore,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  ocean  of  waters, 
which  after  the  lapse  of  immense  periods  actually  did  envelop  the 
earth,  was  not  in  any  sense  the  true  "beginning,"  according  to 
scientific  apprehension.  To  assume,  in  agreement  with  the  theolo- 
gical interpretation,  that  the  watery  chaos  of  Genesis  was  created 
ex  nihilo  at  the  "  beginning  "  only  shuts  the  door  more  effectually 
against  a  reconciliation  with  the  modern  theory,  for  this  theory  can 
never  admit  for  a  moment  that,  since  the  earth  was  covered  with 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS.  423 

an  ocean  of  waters,  all  matter  has  at  any  time  assumed  the  gaseous 
state.  It  knows  that  this  condition  of  the  earth  was  not  the  "  be- 
ginning." Hence,  what  is  affirmed  as  the  primordial  state  in  all 
the  cosmogonies  can  never  be  admitted  as  such  by  science. 

That  the  ancient  cosmogonies  involved  the  notion  of  a  creation 
in  the  modern  sense  is  probably  true  ;  but  I  think  it  was  more  a 
philosophy  than  a  history  of  the  creative  process,  this  process  being 
conceived  fundamentally  as  one  of  division.  I  am  confident,  more- 
over, that  the  entire  scheme  in  its  higher  and  more  habitual  inter- 
pretation had  a  religious,  or  better,  a  politico-religious  import.  It 
constituted,  in  fact,  the  theoretical  basis  of  the  ancient  civilizations, 
each  of  which  was  a  new  heaven  and  earth,  modeled  after  the  primi- 
tive heaven  and  earth.  Creation  was  conceived  as  a  temple,  and 
the  temple  as  an  image  of  creation ;  but  the  state  was  only  an 
expansion  of  the  idea  of  the  temple,  and  thus  preeminently  a  world 
or  cosmos.  The  foundation  of  the  world  was  a  type  of  all  other 
foundations,  and  all  other  beginnings  had  for  their  type  the  begin- 
ning of  time.  As  before  observed,  paradise  itself  was  the  completed 
cosmos,  and  this  was  the  primitive  "  celestial  earth."  Accordingly, 
all  the  ancient  kingdoms  were  celestial  earths,  from  which  comes 
the  fundamental  notion  of  "the  kingdom  of  heaven."  In  this  sense 
chaos  may  be  interpreted  of  human  society,  before  the  introduction 
of  the  principle  of  order  denoted  by  the  term  cosmos. 

But  I  think  the  highest  interpretation  given  to  the  cosmogony 
by  the  sacred  writers  themselves  was  that  of  a  divine  dispensation, 
of  the  establishment  of  an  open  communication  between  heaven 
and  earth,  the  divine  and  human,  a  notion  involved  in  the  expres- 
sion Har-Moad,  "  mountain  of  the  assembly,"  or  "  mount  of  the 
divine  presence,"  of  which  the  Beth-Moad,  or  Hebrew  tabernacle, 
was  in  every  sense  a  reproduction.  The  sacred  mount  of  the  north- 
east was  supposed  to  unite  the  heavens  and  earth,  and  the  blending 
of  its  summit  with  the  sky  itself  gave  rise  to  the  phrase  Svarga- 
bhoumi,  "  celestial  earth."  The  pyramid  in  stages,  like  the  tower  of 
Borsippa,  was  an  express  imitation  of  the  traditional  mount,  which 
was  thus  regarded  as  a  mountain  of  degrees  or  stages.  The  Egyp- 
tian hieroglyph  of  such  a  pyramid  signifies  "a  ladder,"  and  M. 
Lenormant  has  shown  us  that  "  Jacob's  ladder "  was  only  another 
mode  of  reference  to  the  paradisiacal  mountain.  According  to  Scan- 
dinavian mythology,  the  bridge  of  Bifrost  unites  the  heaven  and 


424 


*HAR-MOAD. 


earth.  At  the  destruction  of  the  world  the  final  ruin  of  everything 
is  when  the  giants  jump  upon  the  bridge  of  Bifrost,  breaking  it 
down.  But  afterwards,  a  new  heaven  and  earth  appear.  The  idea 
of  a  new  heaven  and  earth,  then,  is  very  explicit,  and  not  at  all 
poetical ;  it  relates  to  the  reopening  of  communication  between  God 
and  humanity  after  it  has  been  broken  down  by  the  increasing  vio- 
lence of  wickedness  among  men,  in  other  words,  when  the  giants 
have  jumped  upon  the  bridge  Bifrost,  and  all  has  gone  to  ruin.  The 
Scandinavian  mythology,  derived  from  the  ancient  Asgard,  has  pre- 
served perfectly  the  notion  attached  to  the  primitive  Har-Moad. 
As  long  since  shown  by  Dr.  Faber,  the  doctrine  of  "a  succession  of 
similar  worlds  "  extensively  prevailed  in  antiquity,  and  it  obviously 
arose  from  the  idea  of  successive  reconstructions  or  reorganizations 
of  the  heaven  and  earth  on  the  principles  of  the  primitive  cosmos, 
thus  replacing  the  ladder  of  communication  between  God  and  man. 

There  was  many  a  time  in  antiquity  that  a  grand  civilization 
crumbled  into  ruins,  overpowered  by  the  incursions  of  barbarian 
hordes,  or  dragged  down  by  popular  violence,  when  passion  ruled 
the  hour  and  all  virtue  had  decayed.  It  was  only  when  modern 
civilization  had  been  firmly  established,  intrenched  behind  so  many 
frowning  fortresses  girding  the  earth,  and  maintained  by  the  noble 
philanthropy  of  so  many  nations,  that  the  ultimate  redemption  of 
humanity  from  savagism  was  perfectly  assured.  It  was  in  such 
dark  periods  of  history,  when  all  was  lost,  when  every  holy  interest 
of  man  had  been  betrayed,  that  another  ladder  was  let  down  from 
the  sky,  on  which  the  angels  descended  to  inaugurate  a  new  era 
upon  the  earth ;  that  another  bridge  was  thrown  across  the  deep 
chasm  gullied  out  by  the  angry  waters,  or  that  an  ark  was  built, 
and  the  helmsman  bidden  "  to  steer  to  the  gods."  1 

SEC.  174.  No  more  important  truth  has  bqen  developed  by  these 
investigations  than  the  fact  of  the  assimilation  of  the  terrestrial 
paradise  to  the  lower  hemisphere  of  heaven,  and  subsequently  to 
the  Greek  Hades,  or  region  of  the  dead.  The  proofs  embodied  in 

1  It  is  stated  by  Berosus  that  Xisuthrus,  when  warned  of  the  deluge  and  com- 
manded to  save  himself  in  a  ship,  inquired  :  "  Whither  he  should  sail  ?  "  and 
was  told,  "To  the  gods,  with  a  prayer  that  it  might  fare  well  with  mankind." 
The  seat  of  the  gods  was  the  summit  of  the  paradisiacal  mount,  identified  also 
with  that  of  the  deluge.  Ancient  mariners  wore  wont  to  steer  their  vessels  by 
the  group  of  seven  stars  that,  like  the  rudder  of  the  great  world  ship,  swings 
around  the  pole, 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS.  425 

the  seventh  chapter  render  it  impossible,  as  it  seems  to  me,  to  avoid 
the  conclusions  here  stated.  In  the  legend  of  "Ishtar's  descent  into 
Hades,"  one  of  the  designations  of  the  infernal  abode  is  the  Semitic 
phrase  Beth-Hedi,  which  is  ordinarily  employed  in  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures  to  denote  the  tabernacle,  or  place  of  assembly  of  the 
Israelitish  congregation  ;  while  in  the  Syriac  version  of  the  New 
Testament,  the  last  element  of  this  phrase  is  put  for  the  church,  or 
Christian  congregation.  Mr.  Talbot  supposes  that  Hedi  and  Hades 
were  originally  the  same  word.  Now  it  has  been  shown  that,  in 
the  books  of  Moses,  a  direct  relation  was  conceived  to  exist  between 
the  Beth-Hedi,  otherwise  termed  the  Beth-Moad  and  the  Har- 
Moad,  or  mount  of  paradise.  One  was  the  "  house  of  the  assem- 
bly," the  other  the  "  mount  of  the  assembly,"  the  latter  being  the 
primitive  type  of  the  former.  Mt.  Sion,  on  which  the  temple  was 
erected,  only  'replaced  the  Har-Moad  of  primeval  tradition.  Thus, 
that  which  replaced  the  Har-Moad  among  the  Hebrews  was  identi- 
fied with  Hades,  in  the  legend  of  Ishtar  and  among  the  Babylonians. 
Again,  the  "celestial  earth,"  under  the  form  of  a  floating  island, 
is  seen  in  the  vision  of  Timarchus  borne  on  the  bosom  of  the  Stygian 
abyss,  or  river  of  Hades.  The  "celestial  earth,''  however,  was 
originally  one  with  the  terrestrial  paradise.  Finally,  the  Stygian 
river  itself  is  situated  astronomically  in  the  lower  hemisphere,  tak- 
ing its  rise  in  the  constellation  Libra,  directing  its  course  from 
thence  towards  the  south  pole.  This  fact  proves  that  both  Para- 
dise and  Hades  were  located  in  the  inferior  heavens.  It  is  into 
this  region  of  darkness  that  the  sun,  chosen  representative  of  hu- 
manity, makes  its  descent  at  night  or  at  the  period  of  midwinter. 
We  have  the  most  palpable  proof,  in  this  symbolism  connected 
with  the  orb  of  day,  of  the  definite  location  of  Hades,  like  the 
Egyptian  Ament,  in  the  inferior  hemisphere.1  There  exists,  then, 

1  Besides  the  term  Ament,  denoting  the  abode  of  the  setting  sun,  the  region  of 
the  dead,  the  Egyptians  employed  another  expression  whose  reading  is  unsettled, 
although  that  of  Tuaut  has  been  often  adopted.  It  corresponded  to  the  abode  of 
the  blessed,  like  the  Greek  Elysium,  or  Paradise  of  the  later  Jews.  Egyptolo- 
gists are  in  considerable  doubt  as  regards  its  particular  location.  Thus,  M.  E. 
Naville  remarks :  "M.  Pierret  .  .  .  names  this  region  the  'region  of  the  gates, 
the  inferior  hemisphere ; '  MM.  Lauth  and  Brugsch  translate  it  by  *  deep  ;  the 
subterranean  world  ;  '  MM.  Chabas  and  Lefebure  by  *  the  inferior  heaven  ; ' 
M.  Reinisch  ...  by  '  splendor,  abode  of  glory.'  By  comparing  the  various  ex- 
amples of  its  use  in  these  texts,  Tuaut  appears  clearly  indicated  as  being  placed 


426  .HAR-MOAD. 

the  conclusive  evidence:  1st.  That  the  sacred  mount  of  paradise 
was  an  actual  geographical  and  historical  fact,  being  located  on  the 
earth's  surface;  2d.  That  it  was  associated  at  a  subsequent  period 
with  the  Greek  Hades,  or  the  infernal  abodes  ;  3d.  That  both 
these  were  located  astronomically  in  the  lower  hemisphere.  It  is 
for  us  to  seek  some  explanation  of  these  strange  and  contradictory 
notions. 

From  the  point  of  view  afforded  by  modern  science,  we  know 
that  the  inferior  heavens  have  really  nothing  to  do  with  the  abode 
of  man  after  death.  If  the  Greek  Hades  was  located  in  this  celes- 
tial space,  it  had  just  as  little  to  do  with  the  actual  sojourn  of  the 

in  opposition  to  the  superior  heaven  "  (Liianie  du  Soldi,  etc.,  p.  21).  Quite  in- 
consistently, as  it  seems  to  me,  M.  Naville  finally  elects  to  render  Tuaut  by  the 
term  Empyrean,  that  is,  "the  highest  heaven."  He  observes  again,  "I  have 
called  Empyrean  the  region  designated  by  a  word  which  is  as  difficult  to  translate 
as  the  Greek  Hades  ("AtSrjs)  or  the  Hebrew  Sheol  (b^Str)  :  tn^s  *s  the  sojourn 
of  the  dead,  the  place  where  the  defunct  ardently  desire  to  arrive,  and  which  is 
opposed  to  heaven  ;  from  whence  it  has  been  most  frequently  called  the  inferior 
heaven.  This  region  ...  is  probably  situated  at  the  centre  of  the  earth  ;  al- 
though this  is  not  positively  affirmed  "  (ibid.,  p.  126).  The  region  in  question 
appertains  definitely  to  the  nocturnal  sun,  to  Osiris,  and  it  is  placed  in  opposition 
to  the  superior  heaven,  and  is  evidently  located  in  the  Ament,  just  as  Elysium 
and  Paradise  were  situated  in  Hades.  All  goes  to  show  that  the  usual  view, 
which  locates  Tuaut  astronomically  in  the  inferior  heaven,  is  perfectly  correct, 
and  ihe^e  texts  translated  by  M.  Naville,  dating  from  the  period  of  Seti  L, 
afford  another  conclusive  proof  of  our  views,  as  set  forth  in  the  seventh  chapter. 
That  the  Egyptian  Ament,  or  region  of  the  dead,  was  located  astronomically  in 
the  lower  hemisphere,  abode  of  the  nocturnal  sun,  admits  of  no  doubt;  in  fact, 
M.  Naville  identifies  expressly  the  two  regions,  as  in  this  phrase,  "  At  the  same 
time  he  (Ra)  illumes  the  Ament,  the  inferior  heaven"  (p.  30).  Again,  the 
eleventh  and  twelfth  hikennus  of  the  Litanie  itself  confirm  this  point  :  — 

"  He  who  descends  into  the  spheres  of  Ament,  his  figure  is  that  of  Turn. 

"  He  who  descends  into  the  mysteries  of  Anubis,  his  figure  is  that  of  Chepra 


The  god  Turn  is  notably  the  sun  of  the  lower  hemisphere,  and  M.  Naville 
shows  that  Chepra  is  identical  with  him.  Of  Anubis,  the  author  remarks  : 
"  Anubis,  the  dark  jackal,  the  guardian  of  the  coffins,  is  the  emblem  of  the  (western) 
horizon  and  of  the  inferior  hemisphere.  Jablonski  has  demonstrated  this  by 
numerous  examples  derived  from  Greek  and  Latin  authors"  (vid.  pp.  31,  32). 
Thus  the  location  of  the  Egyptian  Ament  in  the  lower  hemisphere,  where  Ra,  the 
sun,  under  the  form  of  Turn  or  Chepra,  descends  at  night,  is  a  fully  demonstrated 
fact;  nor  is  it  less  certain  that  the  Greeks  derived  their  notions  concerning 
Hades  principally  from  those  of  the  Egyptians  respecting  Ament,  so  that  the  same 
astronomical  locality  for  both  must  be  admitted  as  perfectly  substantiated. 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS.  427 

dead.  Nevertheless,  it  is  necessary  to  admit  the  reality  of  a  future 
life,  and  thus  of  the  abode  of  those  inheriting  it.  There  can  be  but 
little  doubt  that  the  mount  of  paradise  itself  was  considered  as 
such  abode  during  the  first  ages  of  the  world,  although  its  actual 
location  on  earth  has  been  so  fully  verified.  In  early  Aryan  tradi- 
tion, as  is  well  known,  the  mansions  of  the  blessed  were  thought  to 
be  situated  on  the  slopes  of  Meru  or  Albordj.  The  Har-Moad  of 
Isaiah  appears  to  have  been  regarded  in  a  similar  light.  Hence, 
the  sacred  mount  of  paradise  was  definitely  associated,  in  some 
sense,  with  the  life  of  man  after  death.  This  fact  is  of  capital  im- 
portance, as  it  offers  an  explanation  of  the  connection  of  Paradise 
with  Hades.  Both  were  regarded  as  the  sojourn  of  the  dead. 
There  was,  however,  this  difference  between  them:  with  the  first 
men,  the  dear  departed  were  believed  to  have  gone  up  the  sacred 
mountain,  and  to  dwell  on  its  shining  slopes.  In  later  conception, 
centring  in  Hades,  all  was  transferred  to  the  under  world,  the 
inferior  heavens,  the  region  of  darkness.  From  whence  arose  these 
differences  in  conceiving  the  locality  of  the  abodes  of  men  after 
death?  We  must  remember  that,  according  to  the  symbolic  mode 
of  representing  the  cosmos  by  the  two  halves  of  the  sphere,  the 
inferior  heavens  were  put  for  the  earth,  and  especially  the  partic- 
ular earth  identified  with  the  terrestrial  paradise.  Hence,  the 
sacred  mount,  as  well  as  Hades,  conceived  as  equally  the  abode  of 
the  departed,  was  located  astronomically  in  the  lower  hemisphere. 
But  this  celestial  region  was  only  a  symbol  put  for  the  earth,  on 
which  the  'sacred  mount  had  its  literal  location.  The  symbolic 
principle  had  been  neglected  and  finally  forgotten ;  and  as  a  conse- 
quence the  lower  heavens  assumed  the  character  of  a  separate  re- 
gion, a  world  of  darkness.  Paradise  and  Hades,  which  had  been 
assimilated  to  this  region  symbolically,  were  now  conceived,  by  an 
entire  misapprehension,  to  be  literally  situated  there. 

In  primeval  tradition,  as  we  are  now  prepared  to  affirm,  the 
actual  dwelling-place  of  the  departed  was  on  the  Har-Moad,  "  the 
mountain  of  the  assembly."  In  this  sense  Hades,  the  Semitic 
Beth-Hedi,  one  with  the  Beth-Moad,  was  originally  connected  with 
it,  and  both  were  symbolically  referred  to  the  inferior  heavens.  It 
was  only  when  the  real  motive  of  this  last  assimilation  had  been 
forgotten  that  all  was  transferred  literally  to  the  under  world,  the 
region  of  darkness,  —  a  sad  perversion  of  primitive  doctrines,  that 


428  .HAR-MOAD. 

has  resulted  in  clothing  the  future  life  of  man  in  impenetrable 
gloom.  We  are  now  able  to  comprehend  how  the  sacred  writers 
were  equally  correct  in  assimilating  the  terrestrial  paradise  to  the 
state  of  the  dead,  to  Hades,  and  at  the  same  time  to  the  Beth-Hedi, 
considered* as  a  reproduction  of  the  sacred  mount  of  tradition.  It 
was  on  the  holy  mountain  of  degrees,  which,  like  Jacob's  ladder, 
united  the  heavens  to  the  earth,  that  primeval  tradition  had  located 
the  beautiful  mansions  of  the  just  made  perfect. 

SEC.  175.  Another  very  important  fact  contemplated  from  the 
point  of  view  which  we  now  occupy  relates  to  the  uniform  concep- 
tion in  high  antiquity  that  the  divine  powers  had  their  seat  in  the 
extreme  northern  heavens,  or  precisely  in  the  celestial  region  pene- 
trated by  the  summit  of  the  paradisiacal  mountain.  Among  the 
Romans,  according  to  Dr.  William  Smith,  the  gods  were  supposed 
to  be  seated  in  the  north ;  and  this  is  confirmed  by  the  location  of 
the  axis  of  the  Pantheon  only  five  degrees  from  the  pole  star ;  the 
reference  being  to  the  seven  stars  of  the  chariot ;  but  especially  to 
the  eighth  region  in  relation  to  them,  regarded  as  the  throne  of 
Jupiter.  The  Phoenician  Eshmun,  the  eighth  Cabirus,  as  shown 
by  Dr.  Movers,  must  be  associated  likewise  with  this  highest,  cen- 
tral point  of  the  heavens.  The  god  Shemal  of  the  Haranite  mys- 
teries, a  divine  name  .equal  to  the  Hebrew  Semal,  which  appears 
originally  to  have  been  common  to  the  Semitic  races,  was  con- 
nected directly  with  the  north  celestial  pole.  The  Persian  Drmazd 
had  his  abode  on  the  divine  summit,  the  Albordj,  source  of  the 
sacred  river  Avanda.  The  Aryans  of  India  located  the  paradise  of 
the  gods  on  the  heights  of  Meru,  or  in  the  region  termed  by  them 
the  Su-Meru.  The  Kharsak-Kurra  of  the  cuneiform  texts,  or  the 
"  Bit-Kharris  of  the  east,"  where,  according  to  the  passage  hereto- 
fore cited,  the  great  divinities  and  their  spouses  reign  forever, 
is  identified  by  M.  Lenormant  with  the  rotating  centre  of  the 
superior  heavens.  As  the  same  writer  has  observed,  the  last  term 
of  hope  of  the  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  kings  was  to  be  conducted 
at  death  to  this  mystical  region  of  the  skies,  there  to  dwell  with 
the  immortal  gods.  The  prophet  Isaiah  makes  use  of  this  very 
fact,  in  his  bitter  sarcasm  upon  the  fall  of  the  Babylonian  mon- 
arch :  "  For  thou  hast  said  in  thine  heart,  I  will  ascend  into  heaven, 
I  will  exalt  my  throne  above  the  stars  of  God  (£7)  ;  I  will  sit  also 
upon  the  mount  of  the  congregation  (Har-Moad),  in  the  sides  of 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS.  429 

the  north  ;  I  will  ascend  above  the  heights  of  the  clouds ;  I  will  be 
like  the  Most  High  (Ely on).  Yet  thou  shalt  be  brought  down  to 
hell  (Sheol),  to  the  sides  of  the  pit"  (xiv.  13-15).  The  " stars  of 
El "  were  previously  identified  with  the  seven  stars  of  the  chariot, 
whose  rolling  motion  around  the  pole  gave  rise  to  the*  notion  of 
strength,  as  involved  in  the  term  El,  "  the  Strong  One."  The 
celestial  space  above  this  group  of  stars  was  that  appropriated  to 
Ely  on,  "  the  Most  High,"  and  it  answered  to  the  eighth  region,  to 
which  also  the  Phoanician  JEshmun  was  assimilated.  Thus,  the 
blasphemous  king  of  Babylon  had  said  in  his  heart  that  he  would 
exalt  his  throne  above  the  seven  stars  of  El;  that  he  would  sit 
upon  the  very  summit  of  the  Har-Moad ;  that  he  would  ascend 
even  into  the  eighth  celestial  region,  and  be  like  Elyon,  "the 
Highest." 

It  is  perfectly  clear  from  the  prophet's  language  that  he  in- 
tends to  associate  the  two  divine  names,  El  and  Elyon,  not  only 
with  the  Har-Moad  situated  geographically  in  the  north,  but  with 
the  particular  and  central  region  of  the  northern  heavens,  supposed 
to  be  penetrated  by  the  summit  of  this  sacred  mountain ;  that  is  to 
say,  with  the  same  region  precisely  which  all  the  Asiatic  nations 
regarded  as  the  seat  of  the  divine  powers.  Such  being  the  case, 
it  is  necessary  to  admit  also  that  this  inspired  writer  intends  to  in- 
dorse, and  does  so  expressly,  the  primitive  doctrine  which  located 
the  divine  abode  in  this  quarter  of  the  heavens.  I  think,  more- 
over, that  the  sacred  writers  generally  countenance  this  idea. 
Heaven  is  often  put  for  the  Deity,  and  especially  for  the  dwelling 
of  God,  to  which  corresponded  the  Holy  of  Holies  of  the  taber- 
nacle, as  shown  by  Dr.  Bahr.  But  it  is  quite  certain,  from  the 
facts  developed  in  these  researches,  that  this  is  not  the  heaven  in 
general,  but  the  particular  and  traditional  heaven,  specially  con- 
nected with  the  Har-Moad,  identified  with  the  mount  of  paradise, 
and  of  which  the  Beth-Moad  was  an  image.  The  cubical  space 
constituting  the  Holy  of  Holies,  like  that  forming  the  eighth  stage 
of  the  pyramidal  temples,  and  which  was  in  an  especial  sense  the 
divine  abode,  obviously  represented  that  particular  heaven,  and  no 
other,  which  was  united  to  the  terrestrial  paradise  by  means  of  the 
sacred  mount.  Thus,  the  two  divine  names,  El  and  Elyon,  were 
expressly  connected  with  this  celestial  region,  and  the  Holy  of 
Holies  represented  it.  Besides  this,  we  have  the  "  gate  of  heaven," 


430  «AR-MOAD. 

the  "  door  of  heaven,"  the  "  gate  of  El,"  and  the  "  house  of  El," 
—  expressions  whose  primary  reference  to  the  central  region  of 
heaven,  connected  with  the  Har-Moad,  admits  of  but  little  doubt. 
If  we  speak,  therefore,  of  the  heavenly  dwelling,  of  the  divine 
abode  par  excellence,  it  can  be  no  other  than  that  to  which 
uniform  tradition  pointed,  the  definite  reference  to  which  was  em- 
bodied in  the  most  ancient  temple  structures,  the  notion  of  which 
was  fundamental  in  all  the  Asiatic  religions.  It  was  on  the  slopes 
of  the  sacred  mountain  that  the  mansions  of  the  blessed  were 
situated.  It  was  its  summit  on  which  the  divine  powers  were  con- 
ceived to  dwell,  and  they  dwell -there  to-day.  Theirs  are  the  hands 
that  firmly  grasp  the  celestial  rudder  steering  the  ship  of  the 
world. 

SEC.  176.  The  two  divine  names,  El  and  Elyon,  so  frequently 
occurring  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  are  well  known  to  have  apper- 
tained to  the  earliest  periods  of  Semitic  development.  As  in  the 
texts  cited  from  Isaiah,  they  are  often  employed  separately,  —  the 
first  signifying  "  the  Strong  One,"  importing  a  character  similar 
to  that  of  a  Hercules ;  the  second  having  the  sense  of  "  the  High- 
est," or  "the  Most  High."  But  in  the  majority  of  instances,  per- 
haps, Elyon  is  employed  as  a  qualifying  word  to  El,  in  the  phrase 
El-elyon.  "  El  the  highest,"  usually  rendered  "  the  Most  High 
God."  The  proofs  were  presented  in  a  previous  chapter  to  the 
effect  that  the  term  Elyon  involves  the  notion  of  "  an  ascent,"  as 
of  a  series  of  stages,  a  staircase,  or  ladder,  hence  also  a  chamber, 
the  chamber  of  heaven,  etc.  In  all  cases,  this  word  imports  "  the 
highest,"  from  whence  its  peculiar  significance  in  relation  to  the 
seven  stars  of  El,  refrrring  to  the  eighth  celestial  region,  to  which 
the  Phoenician  Eslimun  corresponded  as  the  eighth  Cabirus.  The 
Phoenician  and  Hebrew  languages  are  substantially  the  same,  but 
as  a  distinct  nationality  the  Phoenicians  were  far  more  ancient. 
In  the  remains  of  Phoanician  literature,  El  and  Elyon  both  occur 
as  divine  names,  particularly  in  the  cosmogony,  which  is  doubtless 
equal  in  antiquity  to  the  Mosaic  and  Babylonian  systems.  Ac- 
cording to  the  "Fragments  of  Sanchnniatho,"  Elyon,  called  Elioun, 
the  Hypsistus  of  the  Greeks,  plays  a  very  important  part  in  the 
Pho3nician  cosmogony ;  and  by  a  comparison  of  the  facts  as  stated 
by  this  author  with  those  already  before  us,  it  will  be  seen  that 
they  reflect  much  light  upon  each  other.  The  language  of  San- 
choniatho  is  as  follows  :  — 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS.  431 

"  But  from  Sydyc  (the  just)  descended  the  Dioscuri,  or  Cabiri, 
or  Corybaiites,  or  Samothraces ;  these  first  built  a  ship."  "  Con- 
temporary with  these  was  one  Elioun  (Elyon),  called  Hypsistus 
(the  most  high)  ;  and  a  female  named  Beruth."  "  By  these  was 
begotten  E pig  em  or  Autochthon,  whom  they  afterwards  called 
Ouranus  (heaven)."  "He  had  a  sister  of  the  same  parents,  who 
was  called  G-e  (earth)."  "  Hypsistus,  the  father  of  these,  having 
been  killed  in  a  conflict  with  wild  beasts,  was  consecrated,  and  his 
children  offered  libations  and  sacrifices  unto  him."1 

All  these  personages  are  treated  by  the  author  as  purely  hu- 
man characters ;  but  it  is  well  understood  by  critics  that  they 
are  properly  cosmical  potencies.  The  seven  sons  of  Sydyc,  "the 
just,"  including  the  Dioscuri,  or  Twins,  zodiacal  Gemini,  are 
Cabiri,  to  which  another  son,  born  subsequently,  Eshmun,  or  "the 
eighth,"  is  to  be  added.  As  for  Elyon,  called  Hypsistus,  he  is  the 
father  of  heaven  and  earth,  or  of  Ouranus  and  Cre.  It  is  important 
to  compare  with  these  data  the  facts  stated  by  Professor  Fick,  for- 
merly cited,  namely,  that  the  Aryan  Akman,  Greek  Akmon,  signi- 
fies a  "stone,"  then  "heaven,"  also  "anvil,"  being  finally  the 
title  of  one  of  the  Cabiri,  and  a  personal  name  of  the  father  of 
Our  anus,  or  Heaven.  Thus  Ely  on  and  Akmon  are  both  put  for 
the  father  of  heaven,  to  which  might  probably  be  added  Cre,  the 
earth.  As  cosmical  powers,  therefore,  the  two  personages  are  to 
be  identified,  and  from  the  language  of  Isaiah,  assigning  Ely  on  to 
the  eighth  celestial  region,  it  is  obvious  that  Akmon  should  be 
assimilated  to  the  same  region,  in  company  with  the  Phoenician 
Eshmun.  As  two  of  these  names  were  titles  of  a  Cabirus,  it  is 
quite  certain  that  such  was  originally  the  case  with  Elyon,  as  al- 
ready suggested. 

The  reader  has  been  made  acquainted  with  the  character  of  the 
Assyrian  Hercules,  at  one  time  assimilated  to  the  sun  of  the  lower 
hemisphere,  at  another  time  to  the  planet  Saturn,  etc.,  but  whose 
supposed  voluntary  death  and  resurrection  to  a  new  life  constitute 
the  chief  matters  of  interest  in  his  history.  Dr.  Movers  proves 
that  the  name  Akmon,  denoting  a  Cabirus,  was  otherwise  a  title  of 
Hercules.  The  evidence  has  been  already  introduced  to  the  effect 
that  a  Cabirus  was  supposed  to  have  suffered  a  violent  death  at 
the  hands  of  his  brother  or  brothers ;  and  in  order  to  complete  the 
analogies  in  all  such  traditions,  it  is  necessary  to  suppose  that  he 
1  Vid.  Kenrick,  Phoenicia,  p.  333. 


432  IIAR-MOAD. 

was  afterwards  raised  from  the  dead.  Finally,  the  reader  has  no- 
ticed that  the  Phoenician  Elyon,  or  Elioun,  was  thought  to  have  been 
killed  in  conflict  with  wild  beasts ;  that  from  this  circumstance  he 
was  consecrated,  and  worshiped  by  libations  and  sacrifices.  The 
Orientalist  detects  at  once  the  import  of  such  language.  The 
Tammuz-Adonis  was  killed  by  a  wild  boar  while  hunting  on  the 
mountains,  but  was  brought  to  life  again.  M.  Lenormant,  in  a 
critical  and  very  satisfactory  investigation,  has  shown  that  the 
Phoenician  Elyon,  or  Elioun,  presents  the  more  ancient  and  pure 
version  of  the  character  of  Adonis,  corresponding  better  with  the 
Assyrian  Hercules,  who  suffers  a  violent  but  voluntary  death,  is 
burned  upon  the  funeral  pile,  but  finally  raised  again  to  a  new  and 
glorious  existence.1  It  will  be  seen  that  the  various  facts  grouped 
into  one  view  in  the  present  section  go  to  establish  some  very  im- 
portant conclusions,  which  we  now  proceed  to  formulate. 

SEC.  177.  The  inferences  to  be  drawn  from  the  data,  most  of 
which  are  already  familiar  to  us,  are  chiefly  the  following:  — 

1st.  The  Hebrew  and  Phoenician  Elyon  must  be  regarded  as  one 
and  the  same  personage,  whose  primitive  conception  had  been  in- 
herited alike  by  the  two  peoples  speaking  the  same  language.  The 
two  different  phases  of  character  thus  transmitted,  which  appear 
to  be  equally  ancient,  afford  material  aid  in  interpreting  each 
other. 

2d.  The  thoroughly  mystical  character  of  Elyon  is  abundantly 
proved  by  the  two  orders  of  conceptions  found  centring  in  him. 
The  notion  of  ascending  stages,  like  the  ladder  of  Jacob's  vision, 
coupled  with  the  idea  of  the  chambers  of  heaven,  is  plainly  in- 
volved in  the  Hebrew  etymology  of  this  name  and  the  terms  radi- 
cally connected  with  it.  To  this  is  to  be  added  the  direct  assimila- 
tion of  Elyon,  by  Isaiah,  to  the  eighth  celestial  region,  to  which  the 
Phoenician  Eshmun  and  the  Shemal  of  the  Haranite  mysteries  ap- 
pertained, affording  thus  the  plainest  indications  of  an  original 
connection  with  the  Cabiriac  worship.  On  the  Phoenician  side  of 
his  character,  Elyon  appears  as  the  highest  cosmical  potency,  from 
whom  the  genesis  of  the  heaven  and  earth  proceeds ;  at  the  same 
time  he  represents  the  primitive  idea  of  a  divinity  who  suffers 
voluntarily  a  violent  death,  but  is  raised  to  life  again. 

3d.  But  Akmon  is  the  father  of  Ouranus  or  Heaven,  the  same  as 
1  Lettres  Assyriologiques,  t.  ii.  pp.  291-301. 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS.  433 

Ely  on ;  is  the  name  even  of  a  Cabirus,  is  a  title  of  Hercules ;  and 
this  term  etymologically  involves  the  notion  of  "heaven,"  "a 
stone,"  evidently  a  dressed  stone,  and  is  cognate  with  Aktan, 
"  eight,"  and  Aktama,  "  the  eighth,"  like  the  Semitic  Eshmun.  It 
is  obviously  this  very  Cabirus,  whose  symbol  was  a  dressed  stone, 
subsequently  replaced  by  a  meteoric  stone,  used  as  an  anvil,  who 
was  reputed  to  have  been  slain  by  his  brethren. 

4th.  Melchizedek  was  a  priest  of  Elyon,  identified  with  El,  the 
"  Strong  One,"  as  seen  in  the  following  :  "  And  Melchizedek  king 
of  Salem  brought  forth  bread  and  wine  :  and  he  was  the  priest  of 
the  most  high  God.  And  he  blessed  him,  and  said,  Blessed  be 
Abram  of  the  most  high  God,  possessor  of  heaven  and  earth  "  (Gen. 
xiv.  18,  19).  In  this  passage  El  and  Ely  on  are  identified  as 
the  same  personage,  in  opposition  to  any  polytheistic  conception ; 
hence,  the  original  has  El-elyon.  The  phrase,  "possessor  of  heaven 
and  earth,"  in  the  nineteenth  and  twenty-second  verses,  is  unusual 
and  somewhat  peculiar.  The  idea  of  possession  here  is  not  that 
acquired  by  purchase,  by  gift,  nor  by  creation  even,  except  in  the 
sense  of  a  generation,  as  in  the  language  attributed  to  Eve :  "  I 
have  gotten  a  man  from  the  Lord  "  (Gen.  iv.  1),  where  the  same 
Hebrew  radical  appears  in  the  original.  This  term,  Qa-nah,  "  to 
get,  to  obtain,"  never  means  "  to  create,"  and  can  be  compared 
with  the  Hebrew  Bara,  only  as  the  latter  means  "  to  beget."  The 
notion  of  possession,  then,  here  proceeds  from  that  of  generation. 
Thus,  we  show  a  direct  relation  of  the  Hebrew  Elyon,&&  "possessor 
of  heaven  and  earth,"  to  the  Phoenician  Elyon,  as  "father  of  heaven 
and  earth." 

5th.  The  assimilation  of  Elyon  to  the  eighth  celestial  region,  like 
Eshmun,  his  character  as  father  of  Ouranus,  or  Heaven,  like  that 
of  Akmon,  his  reputed  death  by  violence  and  subsequent  resurrec- 
tion, like  the  Cabirus  murdered  by  his  brethren,  all  go  to  establish 
beyond  doubt  his  Cabiriac  character.  But  Melchizedek  was  a 
priest  of  Elyon,  identified  with  El,  the  Strong  One,  and  was  at  the 
same  time  king  of  Salem,  being  thus  a  priest-king.  The  conclusion 
cannot  be  avoided,  —  Melchizedek  belonged  to  the  Cabiriac  priest- 
hood. The  name  Melchi-zedek  signifies  "king  of  justice,"  the  last 
element,  zedek,  is  radically  the  same  as  the  Phoenician  Sydyc,  "the 
just,"  title  of  the  father  of  the  Cabiri.  The  ancient  order  of 
priest-kings  was  founded  upon  the  notion  of  justice,  that  is  to  say, 


434  *  HAR-MOAD. 

righteousness  and  it  was  obviously  this  fact  that  constituted  the 
motive  for  selecting  the  term  zedek  in  composition  with  the  name 
of  Melchizedek.  Sargon  the  ancient  assumed  the  Assyrian  title 
of  Sar-Kitti,  "  king  of  justice,"  and  everything  indicates  that  he 
belonged  to  the  Cabiriac  fraternity.  Thus,  it  is  evident  that  this 
notion  of  "the  just"  or  "justice,"  coupled  with  certain  distin- 
guished personages,  founders  of  new  epochs,  had  a  technical  re- 
ference to  the  Cabiri. 

6th.  If  we  would  realize  now  the  culminating  point  of  the  fore- 
going inferences,  it  is  necessary  to  recall  the  facts  connected  with 
the  celestial  pole  marking  the  very  period  to  which,  all  these  tradi- 
tionary conceptions  appertained ;  facts  that  were  fully  verified  in 
the  fifteenth  chapter.  This  was,  at  the  period  referred  to,  the  ro- 
tating centre  of  the  heavens,  around  which  the  stars  of  -E7  revolved  ; 
it  was  the  eighth  celestial  region  to  which  Elyon,  equally  with 
Eshmun  and  Akmon,  pertained  ;  it  was  in  fact  the  originally  con- 
ceived abode  of  the  divine  powers,  the  celestial  paradise  united  to 
the  terrestrial  by  the  Har-Moad.  It  was,  finally,  the  point  from 
which  the  heavens  and  earth,  and  all  their  principal  divisions,  were 
generated,  giving  rise  to  the  notion  of  the  "father  of  heaven," 
associated  alike  with  Elyon,  God  of  Melchizedek,  and  Akmon,  the 
Cabirus,  whose  symbol  was  the  dressed  stone.  But  that  which  is 
most  important  to  observe  as  connected  with  this  celestial  region, 
and  in  close  proximity  to  the  asterism  representing  the  great 
mother,  is  the  figure  of  Hercules,  clad  in  the  lion's  skin,  and  in  the 
very  act  of  bruising  the  serpent's  head  with  his  heel ;  a  reference 
to  the  promised  seed  of  the  woman  so  plain  as  not  to  be  doubted. 

If,  now,  we  would  find  a  character  that  most  completely  and 
perfectly  realizes  this  entire  circle  of  traditionary  ideas,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  go  to  the  Christian  Scriptures.  (1)  Christ  is  represented 
as  a  cosmical  agent.  All  things  are  made  by  him,  and  he  is  the 
especial  centre  of  a  new  creation,  a  new  heaven  and  earth.  (2) 
He  is  both  king  and  priest,  thus  definitely  related  to  Melchizedek, 
and  to  the  ancient  order  generally  of  the  priest-kings.  (3)  He  is 
the  "  Strong  One,"  the  "  Lord  mighty  in  battle,"  the  "  Lion  of 
the  tribe  of  Juda,"  the  true  Hercules.  (4)  He  suffers  volunta- 
rily a  violent  death,  and  is  raised  again  on  the  third  day.  (5) 
He  is  the  "  chief  corner-stone,"  the  "  stone  which  the  builders 
rejected."  (6)  His  ascent  into  heaven  was  like  the  high-priest's 


CONCLUDING   REMARKS.  435 

entrance  into  the  Holy  of  Holies,  which  represented  the  eighth 
celestial  region,  assimilated  to  Elyon,  and  usually  to  the  eighth 
Cabirus.  (7)  The  fundamental  idea  of  his  character  and  mission 
was  that  of  justice  or  righteousness,  on  which  also  the  Cabiriac 
priesthood  was  founded.  Thus,  all  is  fulfilled  and  realized  in  this 
one  character.  The  personage  to  whom  this  remarkable  character 
appertains  is  not  an  ideal  one,  but  strictly  historical,  as  admitted 
by  the  best  modern  critics  of  the  rationalistic  school.  Such  being 
the  case,  it  must  be  admitted,  I  think,  that  no  such  extraordinary 
coincidences  as  here  established  could  possibly  occur,  except  by  the 
special  intervention  of  a  Divine  Providence.  There  is  many  an 
expression  attributed  to  the  Saviour  in  the  gospel  narrative  that 
proves  him  to  have  been  perfectly  conscious  of  his  relation  to  the 
traditions  of  all  past  ages,  and  that  it  was  his  mission  to  realize  and 
fulfill  all.  But  we  have  not  the  space  here  to  treat  these  matters 
in  a  manner  such  as  their  importance  deserves.  We  have  desired 
merely  to  indicate  to  whom  these  ancient  foregleams  of  prophecy 
appertained. 

SEC.  178.  The  aim  of  all  true  religion  is  to  establish  an  intelli- 
gent relationship  between  God  and  man,  a  conscious  union  between 
the  infinite  and  finite  mind.  But  no  such  intelligent  union  can 
subsist  between  things  merely  general ;  no  more  between  the  finite 
mind  and  something  purely  universal,  as  a  certain  recondite  essence 
filling  all  space.  If  the  Divine  Mind  be  not  apprehended  as  a  con- 
crete, personal  existence,  and  this  under  the  limitations  of  time  and 
space,  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  an  intelligent  communication 
between  God  and  man,  of  a  conscious  relation  subsisting  between 
them,  of  anything,  in  fact,  but  vague  impressions  and  emotions 
arising  from  religious  or  sesthetical  contemplations.  Neither  science 
nor  philosophy  allows  of  aught  beyond  this,  but  religion  aspires  to 
an  actual  and  personal  relation  with  the  Deity.  If  the  Divine 
Mind  exists,  yet  never  communicates  with  his  rational  creatures, 
his  must  be  the  loneliest  and  saddest  heart  in  the  wide  universe.  In 
such  case  infinite  space  itself  must  be  to  the  Deity  but  a  solitary 
confinement,  worse  than  the  convict's  cell.  The  sweetest,  highest 
happiness  is  to  love  and  be  loved  ;  yea,  and  to  tell  of  it.  If  God 
cannot  love  and  reveal  it,  his  must  be  a  hard  lot.  Thus,  while 
science  and  philosophy,  with  their  heartless  generalizations  and 
merciless  logic,  continually  break  down  the  ladder  of  communica- 


436 


'HAR-MOAD. 


tion  between  heaven  and  earth,  religion,  with  its  infinite  longings, 
ever  strives  to  replace  it. 

In  the  primeval  doctrines,  the  effort  was  to  build  down  from 
God,  as  the  universal  and  infinite,  to  man  as  the  individual  and 
finite.  To  this  end,  the  first  principle  laid  down  was  that  God 
dwells,  inhabits,  the  same  as  man.  As  well  attempt  to  communi- 
cate with  empty  space  as  with  a  Deity  who  merely  dwells  everywhere, 
since  for  all  such  purposes  this  would  be  the  same  as  nowhere. 
Conceived  in  its  broadest  sense,  the  dwelling  of  God  was  the  cos- 
mos, more  especially  that  chief  division  of  the  cosmos,  — the  starry 
heaven.  These  points  were  long  since  established  by  Dr.  Bahr,  as 
heretofore  cited.  But  to  understand  here  the  world  in  general,  or 
the  heavens  in  general,  is  to  give  to  these  doctrines  a  pantheistic 
interpretation.  The  allusion  is  definitely  to  the  traditional  heaven 
and  earth  as  known  to  the  first  men,  to  that  particular  celestial 
region  penetrated  by  the  summit  of  the  Har-Moad,  which  the 
Beth-Moad  was  designed  to  reproduce ;  in  other  terms,  to  that  iden- 
tical region  assumed  by  all  the  Asiatic  nations  as  the  seat  of  the 
divine  hierarchy. 

The  next  stage  in  building  down  from  heaven  to  earth,  or  from 
God  to  man,  was  the  temple,  conceived  as  an  image  of  the  cosmos, 
at  the  same  time  as  a  dwelling  of  the  Deity.  But  the  temple,  in 
order  to  become  such  abode,  must  truly  represent  the  cosmos,  and 
be  constructed  upon  the  same  principles.  Hence,  the  theory  of 
both  was  the  same.  Here,  again,  it  is  necessary  to  avoid  the  pan- 
theistic interpretation  of  the  world  in  general,  and  to  assume  a 
direct  reference  to  the  traditional  heaven  and  earth,  identified  with 
the  celestial  and  terrestrial  paradise.  The  "  house  of  the  assembly  " 
must  replace  the  "  mount  of  the  assembly,"  or,  as  Dr.  Lowth  would 
have  it,  the  "  mount  of  the  divine  presence." 

The  final  stage  in  this  process  was  to  assume  man  as  the  true 
temple,  as  the  real  cosmos,  as,  in  fact,  the  most  befitting  habitation 
of  the  Divine  Mind.  This  stage  is  peculiar  and  fundamental  to  the 
Christian  system,  as  appears  from  numerous  passages  like  the 
following :  "  In  whom  ye  also  are  builded  together  for  a  habitation 
of  God  through  the  Spirit "  (Eph.  ii.  22).  But  man  is  likewise 
the  real  cosmos ;  the  threefold  division  of  the  human  powers,  so 
uniformly  adopted  by  the  sacred  writers,  into  spirit,  soul,  and 
body,  obviously  proceeded  originally  from  the  three  chief  divisions 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS.  437 

of  the  cosmos, — the  heaven,  the  atmosphere,  and  the  earth.1  It 
was  on  the  same  principle  that  the  regenerated  man  was  deemed 
the  new  creation,  or  the  new  heaven  and  earth. 

Such,  then,  in  general  terms,  was  the  theory  according  to  which 
it  was  attempted  to  bridge  over  the  chasm  between  the  infinite  and 
finite,  the  divine  and  human,  and  to  establish  an  intimate,  per- 
sonal relation  between  them.  Such  were  the  principles  upon  the 
basis  of  which,  at  the  opening  of  new  epochs,  when  the  old  order  of 
things  had  gone  to  ruins,  it  was  attempted  to  replace  the  ladder  of 
communication  between  heaven  and  earth ;  between  the  ancient 
seat  of  the  divine  powers  on  the  summit  of  the  Har-Moad  and  the 
heavenly  kingdom  which  was  to  be  reinaugurated  among  men.  It 
is  a  fact  very  remarkable,  and  not  less  important,  that  among  so 
many  widely  separated  nations  in  antiquity,  and  through  so  many 
different  epochs,  the  same  celestial  region  was  uniformly  regarded 
as  the  particular  abode  of  the  divine  hierarchy,  from  whence  the 
government  of  the  world  proceeded,  and  the  heavenly  influences 
descended  upon  the  earth.  It  is  sufficient  to  recall  here  the  data 
summarized  in  the  174th  section.  That  the  Hebrew  Scriptures 
indorse  generally  the  same  traditional  doctrine  is  already  quite 
apparent,  and  admits  of  being  even  more  clearly  demonstrated. 
The  allusions  to  this  region  by  the  prophet  Isaiah,  the  candle- 
stick with  seven  branches  in  the  Hebrew  tabernacle,  obviously 
representing  the  seven  stars  of  El,  the  definite  relation  of  the 
Beth-Moad  to  the  Har-Moad,  —  all  tend  to  support  the  doctrine 
common  to  the  entire  Asiatic  world.  The  Christian  Scriptures 
also  contain  many  allusions  pointing  in  the  same  direction.  As, 
however,  the  celestial  pole  was  constantly  changing  its  position,  the 
more  usual  reference  to  this  region  was  by  means  of  the  seven 
stars  of  the  chariot,  which  never  leave  the  visible  heavens,  but  roll 

1  I  find  that  the  Jewish  rabbis  have  some  notion  of  the  relation  of  the  micro- 
cosm to  the  macrocosm.  Dr.  Cox  observes  :  "  Another  authority  declares  that 
*  God  created  three  worlds,  —  the  upper  world,  the  middle  world,  and  the  lower 
world.'  Farther,  it  is  said  in  Zohar  that  God  created  three  souls,  answering  to 
the  three  worlds,  namely,  the  Nephesh,  that  is,  the  soul  ;  and  the  Ruach,  that  is,  the 
spirit;  and  the  Neshama,  that  is,  the  precious  soul."  (Bib.  Antiquities,  p.  423.) 
It  is  obvious  that  the  primitive  doctrine  is  here  somewhat  obscured,  that  the 
"  lower  world  "  should  be  considered  the  earth,  to  which  corresponds  the  Bara*, 
or  body ;  while  the  Neshama  should  be  excluded  from  the  category,  as  a  later 
arrangement. 


438 


HAR-MOAD. 


forever  around  that  divine  summit  from  whence  the  holy  moun- 
tains of  all  ages  have  been  derived. 

SEC.  179.  If  any  doctrine  was  more  fundamental  than  another 
in  nearly  all  the  systems  of  antiquity,  it  was  that  relating  to  the 
active  and  passive  powers  of  the  universe,  or  the  male  and  female, 
appearing  primarily  in  the  cosmogony  as  mind  and  matter,  whose 
union  in  one  androgynous  divinity  constituted  the  absolute  first 
principle.  The  conception  of  a  pure  spirituality,  prior  to  and 
independent  of  all  matter,  does  not  appear  to  have  been  primitive, 
but  rather  the  product  of  later  philosophical  abstraction.  The 
cosmogonies,  so  far  as  I  am  able  to  perceive,  do  not  teach  any  such 
doctrine.  The  most  primitive  titles  of  divinity  prevailing  among 
men  do  not  involve  etymologically  the  notion  of  a  pure  spiritual 
existence,  but  quite  the  contrary.  The  Chinese  Tien,  the  Sanskrit 
Dyu  or  Dyaus,  and  the  Accadian  An,  all  denoted  the  "heaven" 
or  the  "  sky,"  conceived  as  the  Deity.  Even  the  substantive  verb 
to  be,  which  has  given  birth  to  so  many  divine  names  in  various 
languages,  relates  rather  to  that  which  really  is  than  to  the  ab- 
stract pure  being  of  the  philosophers.  Matter  really  is  the  same 
as  mind,  and  this  verb  involves  equally  the  notion  of  both.  The 
idea  of  the  poverty  of  language  does  not  apply  here ;  for  the  truth 
is,  that  the  first  men  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  words  to  express 
exactly  their  real  notion  of  the  Deity,  and  among  these  were  those 
just  noticed.  They  signified  "  heaven,"  and  heaven  was  taken  for 
the  Deity.  The  ancients,  however,  did  not  divorce  mind  from 
matter,  as  is  done  in  modern  thought.  They  were  conceived  in 
eternal  marriage.  Thus,  the  primitive  man  had  no  difficulty  in 
associating  mind,  and  even  personality,  with  the  material  heaven, 
considered  as  the  Divinity.  The  notion  of  heaven-he,  or  of 
heaven  regarded  as  a  personal  deity,  was  perfectly  consistent  with 
the  prevailing  habit  of  thought.  Again,  the  conception  of  .a  deity 
having  his  abode  beyond  the  material  heaven,  and  outside  the 
material  creation,  was  obviously  the  result  of  later  philosophical 
speculations,  and  wholly  foreign  to  the  primitive  doctrines.  It  is 
a  sufficient  proof  of  this  that,  when  the  original  androgynous  prin- 
ciple separated  into  the  two  chief  divisions  of  the  cosmos,  or  heaven 
and  earth,  these  were  universally  conceived  as  the  heaven  father 
and  the  earth  mother,  from  whose  commerce  all  things  had  their 
birth.  This  separation  was,  in  all  the  cosmogonies,  the  first  act  of 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS.  439 

creation.  Now  it  is  evident  in  this  case  thnt  the  heaven  father 
was  assimilated  to  the  material  heaven,  and  the  earth  mother  to 
the  material  earth;  and  that  nothing  was  imagined  as  beyond  or 
outside  until  metaphysical  abstraction  began  to  subvert  the  ancient 
doctrines.  The  notions  of  the  heaven  father  and  of  the  earth 
mother  naturally  proceeded  from  the  doctrine,  common  to  all  the 
cosmogonies,  that  creation  was  in  some  sense  a  generation ;  a  doc- 
trine distinctly  recognized  in  the  Mosaic  system,  as  in  the  phrase, 
"The  generations  \Toledoth,  from  Yalad,  "to  beget")  of  the 
heavens  and  of  the  earth  "  (Gen.  ii.  4).  The  same  fundamental 
ideas  as  those  here  set  forth  were  absolutely  primitive  in  China, 
in  Egypt,  in  the  Euphrates  valley,  among  the  Aryans  of  India 
and  Persia,  among  the  Pho3nicians,  and  probably  all  the  Semitic 
races. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  insist  upon  the  point, 'in  view  of  the 
facts  familiar  to  us,  that  the  heaven  father  and  earth  mother,  as 
conceptions  appertaining  to  the  ancient  cosmogonies,  are  not  to  be 
interpreted  of  the  heaven  and  earth  in  general,  and  thus  in  the 
purely  philosophical  and  pantheistical  sense,  but  of  that  particular 
and  traditional  heaven  and  earth  known  to  the  first  men,  and  sup- 
posed to  be  united  by  the  paradisiacal  mountain.  It  was  here, 
indeed,  as  heretofore  shown,  that  all  the  cosmogonies  centred.  It 
was  here,  too,  that  the  birth  of  man,  usually  conceived' as  the  result 
of  the  commerce  of  Heaven  and  Earth,  actually  did  take  place. 
The  heaven  father,  then,  is  to  be  associated  with  that  celestial 
region  which,  in  the  traditions  of  all  Asia,  was  regarded  as  the 
especial  abode  of  the  divine  powers,  and  of  which  the  Holy  of 
Holies  in  the  Hebrew  tabernacle  was  a  symbolical  representation. 
The  earth  mother,  on  the  other  hand,  must  be  assimilated  to  the 
terrestrial  paradise ;  and  of  this  the  outer  court  of  the  tabernacle 
was  an  image,  as  previously  established.  The  primitive  relation  of 
the  earth-goddess  to  the  "  celestial  earth,"  and  even  to  the  church 
itself,  is  sufficiently  established  in  the  ninth  chapter;  and  we  may 
interpret  the  man  born  of  the  heaven  father  and  earth  mother  in 
a  special  sense  of  the  regenerated  man.  Thus,  we  see  how  very 
important  it  is  to  a  proper  understanding  of  these  primitive  con- 
ceptions that  we  restore  to  them  their  traditional  elements.  We 
perceive,  then,  at  once  their  thoroughly  religious  import ;  while 
otherwise  they  appear  as  purely  philosophical  dogmas,  whose  pan- 


440  HAR-MOAD. 

theistical  character  is  very  apparent.  It  is  the  same  of  the  temple, 
regarded  as  an  image  of  the  cosmos.  The  origin  of  the  temple  in 
the  primitive  Har-Moad  is  all  important  to  be  considered,  a  point 
upon  which  we  have  heretofore  insisted.  In  general,  it  is  necessary 
to  supply  to  the  systems  of  antiquity  their  traditional  element,  if 
we  would  correctly  interpret  them.  It  is  a  striking  characteristic 
of  the  two  religions  of  the  Bible  that  they  preserve  intact  the  tradi- 
tional science  inherited  from  the  very  beginning,  and  that  this 
constitutes  the  solid  foundation  of  their  respective  epochs,  the  inde- 
structible basis  upon  which  the  communication  between  heaven 
and  earth  is  to  be  maintained.  It  is  uniformly  from  the  same 
celestial  region  that  the  holy  influences  descend,  and  to  which 
everything  is  adjusted.  The  assumption  of  the  entire  expanse  of 
the  sky  as  the  abode  of  the  Heavenly  Father  was  just  that  pan- 
theistical conception  expressly  discountenanced  by  the  sacred 
writers,  and  the  assumption  of  a  purely  ideal  region  beyond  the 
material  heavens  as  such  abode  found  no  justification  in  the  sacred 
tradition  ;  but  this  was  rather  an  additional  world,  superinduced 
upon  the  real  cosmos,  when  philosophy  and  science  had  consummated 
the  divorce  between  mind  and  matter,  and  it  is  just  this  divorce 
which  is  to-day  undermining  the  faith  of  mankind.  It  has  substi- 
tuted for  the  heaven  father  the  speculative  doctrine  of  the  absolute. 
It  has  substituted  for  the  earth  mother  a  dead  matter  governed  by 
a  blind  law.  It  has  given  us  a  Divinity  who  dwells  everywhere, 
and  this  is  as  much  as  to  sa,y  nowhere.  But  faith  cannot  subsist  in 
such  a  vacuity  as  this.  It  is  on  the  Har-Moad  that  the  Father 
dwells,  and  it  is  there  that  our  beloved  have  gone  up. 


LIST   OF  AUTHORS   AND    THEIR   WORKS. 


ASM  us  (P.).   Die  indogermanische  Religion  in  den  Hauptpunkten  ihrer  Entwicke- 

lung.     Halle,  1875.     8vo. 
BAHR  (K.  C.).    Symbolik  des  Mosaischen   Cultus.     Heidelberg,  1837.     2  vols. 

8vo. 
BENFEY  (THEO.)  and  STERN  (M.  A.).     Ueber  die  Monatsnamen  einiger  alter 

Volker.     Berlin,  1836.     8vo. 
BERNARD  (In.).   Dictionnaire  Mythologique  Universel.     On  the  basis  of  Jacobi. 

Paris,  1846.     7mo. 
BIRCH  (S.).    Ancient  History  from  the  Monuments  :  Egypt.     New  York,  1875. 

12mo. 
BRESSLAU  (M.  H.).    Hebrew  and  English   Dictionary.     On  the  basis  of  Fiirst. 

London,  1855.     12mo. 

BROCA  (PAUL  DE).    In  Smithsonian  Reports. 

BROCKLKSBY  (J.).    Elements  of  Astronomy.     New  York,  1874.     7mo. 
BRUGSCH  (H.).    Materiaux  pour  servir  a  la  Reconstruction  du  Calendrier  des 

Anciens  Egyptiens.     Leipzig,  1864.     4to. 

—  Grammaire  HieYoglyphique.     Leipzig,  1872.     4 to. 
BUNSEN    (ERNST    v.).    Biblische    Gleichzeitigkeiten,   oder   Uebereinstimmende 

Zeitrechnung  bei  Babyloniern,  Assyrern,  Aegyptern,  und  Hebraern.     Berlin, 

1875.     8vo. 
BUKRITT  (E.  H.).   The  Geography  of  the  Heavens.     Mattison's  edition.     New 

York,  1856.     7mo. 
BUSH  (GEORGE).   Notes  Critical  and  Practical  on  the  Book  of  Genesis.     New 

York,  1838.     2  vols.     7mo. 
CALMET  (AUG.).   Dictionary  of  the  Holy  Bible.     Robinson's  edition.     Boston, 

1832.     Large  8vo. 

CAMPBELL  (G.).   The  Four  Gospels  ;  translated  from  the  Greek,  with  Prelimi- 
nary Dissertations.     Boston,  1824.     4  vols.     8vo. 
CARR^  (L.).    L'Ancien  Orient ;    Etudes   Historiques,  Religieuses,    et    Philoso- 

phiques.     Paris,  1875.     4  vols.     8vo. 
CHABAS  (F.).  Etudes  sur  1'Antiquite  Historique  d'apres  les  Sources  Egyptiennes 

et  les  Monuments  Prehistoriques.     Paris,  1873.     Large  8vo. 
—  Les  Papyrus  Hieratiques  de  Berlin.     Paris,  1863.     8vo. 
Observations  sur  le  chapitre  vi.  du  Rituel  Funeraire  Egyptien,  etc.    Paris, 

1863.     4to. 


442  LIST  OF  AUTHORS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

CHWOLSOHN  (D.).  Die  Ssabier  und  der  Ssabismus.  St.  Petersburg,  1856.  2  vols. 
8vo. 

-  Ueber  die  Ueberreste  der  Altbabylonischen  Literatim      St.  Petersburg, 
1859.     4to. 

Cox  (F.  A.).    Biblical  Antiquities,  with  some  collateral  subjects,  etc.     London, 

1852.     7mo. 
CUD  WORTH   (R.).    The  True  Intellectual   System  of  the  Universe.     Andover, 

1837.     2  vols.     8vo. 
CURTIUS  (G.).     Grundziige  der  Griechischen  Etymologic.     4e  Aufl.      Leipzig, 

1873.     Large  8vo. 
DELITZSCH  (FRIED.).    Assyrische  Studien.    H.  I.    Leipzig,  1874.     8vo. 

—  Assyrische  Lesestiicke.     Leipzig,  1876.     4to. 
DILLMANN  (Dr.).    In  Schenkel's  Bibel-Lexikon. 
DUPUIS  (Cn.  F.).    L'Origine  de  tous  les  Cultes,  ou  Religion  Universelle.     Paris, 

1795.     3  vols.     4to. 

FABER  (G.  S.).    The  Origin  of  Pagan  Idolatry.     London,  1816.     3  vols.     4to. 
FICK    (A.).      Vergleichendes     Worterbuch    der     indogermanischen     Sprachen. 

3e  Aufl.     Gottingen,  1874-1876.     4  vols.     8vo. 
FURST  (J.).     Hebraisches    und    Chaldaisches    Schulworterbuch,    iiber   das  Alte 

Testament.     Leipzig,  1872.     16mo. 

GESENIUS  (WILLIAM).  Hebrew  and  English  Lexicon.  Translated  by  Robin- 
son. Boston,  1850.  8vo. 

-  Der  Prophet  Jesaia.     Neu  iibersetzt.     Leipzig,  1820.     2  vols.     7mo. 

—  Scripturae  Linguaeque  Phoeniciae,  Monumenta  quotquot  supersunt.  Leip- 
sias,  1837.  4to. 

GOLDZIHER  (T.).  Der  Mythos  bei  den  Hebraern,  und  seine  geschichtliche  Ent- 
wickelung,  etc.  Leipzig,  1876.  8vo. 

GRE"BAUT  (E.).   In  Revue  Archeologique,  Paris. 

GRILL  (J.).  Die  Erzvater  der  Menschheit  ;  ein  Beitrag  zur  Grundlegung  einer 
hebraischen  Alterthumswissenschaft.  Leipzig,  1875.  8vo. 

GRIVEL  (Jos.).    In  Trans.  Bib.  Arch.  Society,  London. 

GROTE  (GEORGE).    The  History  of  Greece.     New  York,  1856.     12  vols.     7mo. 

HALE"VY  (Jos.).    In  Journal  Asiatique,  Paris. 

HAMMER  (J.  DE).  Memoire  sur  le  Culte  de  Mithra.  Paris,  1833.  8vo.  Plates, 
4to. 

HERZOG  (Dr.).  In  Protestant  Theological  and  Ecclesiastical  Encyclopedia,  Phi- 
ladelphia. 

HOPKINS  (S.).    In  Bibliothoca  Sacra,  Andover. 

JOSEPHUS  (FLAVIUS).  The  Works  of  Josephus.  Translated  by  Whiston.  Cin- 
cinnati, 1837.  8vo. 

KENRICK  M.).    Phoenicia.     London,  1855.     8vo. 

KURTZ  (Dr.).  In  Protestant  Theological  and  Ecclesiastical  Encyclopedia,  Phi- 
ladelphia. 

LAJAHD  (M.  F.).  Recherches  sur  le  Culte,  les  Symboles,  les  Attributs,  et  les 
Monuments  figures  de  Verms.  Paris,  1848.  4to.  Plates,  folio. 

LE  BAS  (Pfl.).    L'Univers  :  Suede  et  Norwege.    Paris,  1841.     8vo. 


LIST  OF  AUTHORS  AND   THEIR  WORKS.  443 

LENORMANT  (FRANCOIS).    Essai  de  Commentate  des  Fragments  Costnogoniques 
de  Berose.     Paris,  1872.     8vo. 

Les  Premieres  Civilisations  ;  Etudes  d'Histoire  et  d'Archeologie.     Paris, 

1874.     2  vols.     8vo. 

—  Lettres  Assyriologiques  et  Epigraphiques,  sur  1'Histoire  et  les  Antiquites 
de  1'Asie  anterieure.     Paris,  1872.     2  vols.     4to,  autographic. 

—  Lettres    Assyriologiques.     Seconde   Serie.     Etudes    Accadiennes.     Paris, 
1873.     Vol.  I.     4to,  autographic. 

Essai   sur   un   Document   Mathematique    Chaldeen.     Paris,    1868.     8vo, 


autographic. 
—  La  Magie  chez  les  Chaldeens  et  les  Origines  Accadiennes.     Paris,  1874. 


8vo. 

—  La  Divination  et  la   Science   des  Presages,  chez  les   Chaldeens.     Paris, 
1875.     8vo. 
Manuel  d'Histoire  Ancienne  de  1' Orient.    Paris,  1869.    6me  edition.    3  vols. 


12mo.     Atlas. 
LUBBOCK  (J.).    The  Origin  of  Civilization,  and  the  Primitive  Condition  of  Man. 

New  York,  1870.     7mo. 
MAINE  (H.  S.).   Ancient  Law  :  Its  Connection  with  the  Early  History  of  Society, 

and  its  Relation  to  Modern  Ideas.     New  York,  1864.     8vo. 
MARIETTE-BEY  (AuG.).    Museed'Antiquites  Egyptiennes a  Boulaq.    Paris,  1869. 

8vo. 

—  Aper9u  de  1'Histoire  Ancienne  d'Egypte.     Paris,  1867.     8vo. 

—  Memoire  sur  Mere  d'Apis.     Paris,  1856.     4to. 

MASPERO  (G.).     Histoire  Ancienne  des  Peuples  de  1'Orient.     Paris,  1875.     7mo. 

—  In  Bibliotheque  de  1'Ecole  des  Hautes  Etudes. 
M^NANT  (J.).    Babylone  et  la  Chaldee.     Paris,  1875.     Large  8vo. 

MEIER  (E.).    Hebraisches  Wurzelworterbuch,  nebst  drei  Anhangen.    Mannheim. 

1845.     8vo. 
MOVERS  (F.  C.).    Untersuchungen  ueber  die  Religion  und  die  Gottheiten  der 

Phonizier.     Bonn,  1841.     8vo. 
MULLER  (M.).   Lectures  on  the  Science  of  Languages.     1st  and  2d  Series.     New 

York,  1865.     2  vols.     7mo. 

Chips  from  a  German  Workshop.    New  York,  1869.    2  vols.     7mo.     Other 

volumes  since  issued. 

—  Lectures  on  the  Science  of  Religion.     In  Littell's  Living  Age.     Aug.  20, 
1870. 

NAVILLE  (E.).  La  Litanie  du  Soleil.  Inscriptions  recueillies  dans  les  Tom- 
beaux  des  Rois  h  Thebes.  Leipzig,  1875.  4to.  Plates,  4to. 

NISSEN  (H.).  Das  Templum.  Antiquarische  Untersuchungen.  Berlin,  1869. 
8vo. 

NORRIS  (E.)    Assyrian  Dictionary.     London,  1868-1872.     3  vols.     4to. 

OBRY  (J.  B.  F.).  Du  Berceau  de  1'Espece  Humaine,  selon  les  Indiens,  les  Per- 
ses,  et  los  Hebreux.  Paris,  1858.  8vo. 

OPPERT  (J.).  L'Immortalite  de  1'Ame  chez  les  Chaldeens.  Paris,  1875. 
8vo. 


444  LIST   OF  AUTHORS  AND   THEIR  WORKS. 

OPPERT  (J.).    Etudes  Assyrienn^s.     Textes  de  Babylone  et  de  Ninive,  dechiffres 

et  interpretes.     Inscription  de  Borsippa.     Paris,  1857.     8vo. 
Histoire  des  Empires  de  Chaldee  et  d'Ass/rie  d'apres  les  Monuments. 

Versailles,  1865.     8vo. 

In  Journal  Asiatique,  Paris. 

RAWLINSON  (GEO.).    The  History  of  Herodotus.     A  new  English  version.     New 

York,  1861-1866.     4  vols.     8vo. 
The  Five  Great  Monarchies  of  the  Ancient  Eastern  World.    London,  1871. 

3  vols.     8vo.     2d  edition. 
RAWLINSON  (H.  0.).    The  Persian  Cuneiform  Inscription  at  Behistun.     London, 

1846.     8vo.     [Extract  from  Journal  of  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  London.] 
A  Commentary  on  the  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria. 

London,  1850.     8vo.     [Extract  Jour.  Roy.  As.  Society,  London.] 
In  Rawlinson's  Herodotus. 


KENAN  (ERNEST).   Histoire  Generate  et  Systeme  Compare  des  Langues  Semi- 
tiques.     Paris,  1863.     8vo.     4th  edition. 

De  1'Origine  du  Langage.     Paris,  1864.     8vo.     4th  edition. 

In  Journal  Asiatique,  Paris. 

REINISCH  (L.).   Der  Einheitliche  Ursprung  der  Sprachen  der  Alten  Welt.    Wien, 
1873.     Vol.  I.     Large  8vo. 

RICH  (E.).    In  Occult  Sciences.     London,  1855.     8vo. 

ROEDIGER  (E.)  and  POTT  (A.  F.).    In  Zeitschrift  fur  die  Kunde  des  Morgen- 
liindes.     Bonn,  1846. 

ROMIEU  (A.).   Lettres  a  Monsieur  Lepsius,  sur  un  Decan  du  Ciel  Egyptien.  Leip- 
zig, 1870.     4to. 

ROUGE*  (E.  DE).    Chrestomathie  Egyptienne.     Paris,  1867.     4to. 

Same.      1868.     1st  part,  autographic.     2d  part,  8vo. 

ROUGED  (J.  DE).    Monnaies  des  Nomes  de  1'Egypte.     Paris,  1873.     8vo. 

SAYCE  (A.  H.).    In  Trans.  Bib.  Arch.  Society,  London. 

SCHLEGEL    (G.).     Uranographie    Chinoise.      Ouvrage   accompagne    d'un    Atlas 
Celeste  Chinois  et  Grec.     La  Have,  1875.     Large  8vo.     Atlas,  folio. 

SCHLOTTMANN    (K.).    Die  Inschrift    Eschmunazars,    Kb'nigs  der   Sidonier,  etc. 
Halle,  1868.     8vo. 

SCHRADER  (E.).    Die  Kt'ilinschriften  und  das  Alte  Testament.     Giessen,  1872. 
8vo. 

Die  Assyrieche-Babylonischen  Keilinschriften.     Leipzig,  1872.     8vo. 

SMITH  (GEORGE).    Assyrian  Discoveries.     New  York,  1875.     8vo. 

The  Chaldean  Account  of  Genesis.     New  York,  1876.     8vo. 

Same.     Revised  Edition.     1880.     8vo. 

SMITH  (WILLIAM).    Classical  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Biography,  My- 
thology, and  Geography.     Author's  edition.     New  York,  1859.     8vo. 

STALLO  (J.  B.).    General  Principles  of  the  Philosophy  of  Nature.     Boston,  1848. 
7mo. 

STEWART  (M.).    A  Commentary  on  the  Apocalypse.     Andover,  1845.     2  vols. 
8vo. 

TALBOT  (F.).    In  Trans.  Bib.  Arch.  Society,  London. 


LIST  OF  AUTHORS  AND  THEIR  WORKS.  445 

TAYLOR  (B.).    Central  Africa.     New  York,  1859.     7mo. 

TUCH  (F.).    Commentar  iiber  die  Genesis.     Halle,  1871.     8vo.     2d  edition. 

UHLEMANN    (M.).      Handbuch   der   gesammten    agyptischen    Alterthumskunde. 

Leipzig,  1857,  1858.     4  vols.     8vo. 
VOGUE"  (CTK  DE).    Melanges  d'Archeologie  Orientate.     Paris,  1868.     8vo. 

—  Syrie  Centrale.     Inscriptions  Semitiques,  etc.     Paris,  1869.     4to. 
WARBURTON  (Wm.).    The  Divine  Legation  of  Moses  Demonstrated.    London, 

1846.     3  vols.     8vo. 
WHITNEY  (W.  D.).     Oriental  and  Linguistic  Studies.     New  York,  1873.     7mo. 

—  The  Same.     2d  Series.     New  York,  1874.     7mo. 
WILFORD  (F.).    In  Asiatic  Researches. 
WILKINSON  (G.).    In  Rawlinson's  Herodotus. 


OTHER  PUBLICATIONS. 

Asiatic  Researches.     London.     Vols.  ii.,  vi.     4to.     7  vols.     1799-1803. 
Bibliotheque  de  1'Ecole  des  Hautes  Etudes.    12e  Fascicule.    Du  Genre  Epistolaire 

chez  les  Esiyptiens,  etc.     Paris,  1872.     8vo. 

Bulletin  du  Congres  International  des  Orientalistes.     Session  de  1876,  a  St.  Pe- 
ter sbourg.     8vo. 
Cuneiform   Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia.      British    Museum    Series.      London. 

1861-1875.     4  vols.     Folio. 
Das  Todtenbuch  der  Aegypter,  etc.      Heransg.  von  Dr.  R.  Lepsius.     Leipzig, 

1842.     4  to. 

Encyclopedia  Americana.  Boston.  Vol.  ix. 
Journal  Asiatique.  Paris,  1874-1876.  8vo. 
Protestant  Theological  and  Ecclesiastical  Encyclopedia.  Edit,  by  Bomberger. 

Vol.  I.     Philadelphia,  1858.     8vo. 
Records  of  the  Past  ;  being  English  translations  of  the  Assyrian  and  Egyptian 

Monuments.  Vol.  I.  London,  1873.  16mo. 
Revue  Archeologique.  Paris,  1873,  1874.  8vo. 
Rituel  Funeraire  des  Anciens  Egyptiens.  Texte  complet,  etc.  Par  M.  E.  de 

Rouge.     Paris,  1864,  etc.     Folio. 

Schenkel's  Bibel-Lexikon.     Leipzig,  1869-1875.     5  vols.     8vo. 
Smithsonian  Reports.     Washington,  1868.     8vo. 

The  Vishnu  Purana.     Translated  by  H.  H.  Wilson.     London,  1840.     4to. 
Translations  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology.     London,  1872-1874.     8vo. 
Zeitschrifc  der  Deutschen  Morgenlandischen  Gesellschaft.     Leipzig,  1873.     8vo. 


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